


Meatballs Get Married

by lady_meatball



Category: American (US) Actor RPF, Chris Evans (Actor) RPF
Genre: Domestic!Evans, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gen, K C & the Sunshine Band, K&C, Las Vegas Wedding, Wedding Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-11 08:58:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11711112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_meatball/pseuds/lady_meatball
Summary: New Year’s Eve 2016 dawns, and the day kicks off with some romance, some laughs, and some pampering.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings- None, super fluff.

  
  


[Originally posted by perfectfeelings](https://tmblr.co/ZEU3th2OA_5dH)

* * *

 

The muted honk of a car horn drifting up to the window brought Chris to the in-between world of dreaming and consciousness, making him inhale deeply before moving to roll from his stomach onto his back and eventually turning to his side to facilitate him draping over Katie in her sleeping state; as soon as he touched her, she cuddled closer, wedging her body further under his, telling him she was now awake.

“ _You ‘wake?_ ” She croaked softly before a yawn escaped her in a whine.

“ _No._ ” Chris answered, catching her yawn while pushing his arm under the blankets to hold her close before going on to say, “But I will be soon…morning, Princess.”

“Morning, Handsome.” She stretched, and the familiar sound of her body ridding itself of nighttime stiffness made a lazy smile tug at the corners of Chris’ mouth when she groaned in delight before an unexpected kiss was pressed to his lips; he hadn’t opened his eyes yet, but with the scant amount of space between their lips, he could feel the smile stretch over Katie’s face a second before her hand touched his cheek and the tip of her nose rubbed against his gently as she whispered, “ _Happy Wedding Day_ …when we wake up tomorrow, I’ll get to call you my _husband_ …”

That comment had his smile turning into a full blown grin and earned a hum of approval and happiness rumbling from deep in his chest, sounding almost like a purr of contentment. It only required the tiniest movement for him to connect their mouths once more, and soon the kisses turned intense but playful from the sweet and romantic exchanges he intended until Katie retreated just far enough to break the embrace.

Feeling the loss, Chris knew it was time to finally open his eyes, and after taking a couple of seconds to blink himself awake, he focused on the face only inches away, smiling softly at him with so much love, happiness and serenity in her eyes; a sigh of bliss leaving him seemed to be the only way to perfectly sum up how he felt in that moment, holding the woman that was going to be starting the next chapter of his life with him in a matter of hours, in a moment of peace in their little cocoon of quiet in the chaos that was Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve.

“That’s _all_ I’m going to be saying for the _foreseeable future_ …my husband.” Katie confessed, tracing her fingertips along the left side of his face slowly. “ _ **MY** husband…my **HUSBAND** …_”

Chris moved his arm, but only to allow him to push the hem of the shirt Katie had worn to bed up so he could mirror her actions with gentle touches of his fingers tracing shapes along her spine; licking his lips, Chris watched her, taking in the sight of her slowly waking up with eyes becoming bright and clear in the light slipping in around the blackout curtains, and loving everything about her in that moment.

“No matter how beautiful you look later…” He started to say, smiling at how gravely his voice sounded in his own ears, “You’ve _never_ looked _more gorgeous_ to me than you do right now. I just want you to know that.”

“With sleep boogers in my eyes, and my hair probably sticking up from one side of my head…?” She chuckled while gently rubbing her thumb along the seam of his eye to wipe away the sleep still clinging there before she had even gotten the little bits in the corners of her eyes. “And a crease from the pillowcase on my cheek no doubt…you don’t have to flatter me, Evans, I’m still planning on showing up to the chapel to marry you…and besides, it’s not like this is the first time you’ve woken up next to me…”

“No…but this is the _last time_ I get to wake up next to anybody that _isn’t **my wife**_.” He explained, taking a deep inhaled breath before scooting his body just a smidgen closer to hers, his leg pressing to wedge between Katie’s, knocking it to cover his as he moved to connect at the groin. He returned her nuzzle from moments earlier, whispering, “It’s been a crazy few months, and I just want you to know that they’ve been some of the best in my life…that I’m so happy to have found you, and while not _every_ moment from this point forward will be guaranteed to be rainbows and jellybeans…I can’t tell you how grateful I am to know that I’ve got you standing by my side for all of it.”

He could see the reaction as it took over her face, pinching her mouth and forehead to attempt to keep the emotions from spilling over while her eyes teared up and she sniffed to clear her nose.

“You’re supposed to save the mushy stuff for later, _ya big moose_.”

He barked out a soggy laugh of his own, leaning his face into Katie’s to rest his forehead against hers.

“Sorry, _I forgot_ …” He apologized without much conviction, his left cheek lifting his smile on the one side as a gentle chuckle left him. “I’ll save the rest of it for this afternoon, I promise…”

“ _Good_ -” Katie laughed rather soggily, lifting her hand from where it petted his cheekbone to wipe at her eyes before pushing under her nose to wipe away anything that might have slipped past her attempts at keeping everything in, “-I expect to cry later today…hell, I’ll probably be a weepy mess all damn day anyways, but don’t make it _worse_!”

Her playfully chastising him had Chris laughing heartily, pulling her as close as they could get.

“I’ll _try_ , but you’re talking to the guy that’ll be just as big of a weepy mess, remember? I cry over commercials or the way a sunset lights the sky…” He reminded her with a barely there touch of his lips to hers, smiling a Cheshire Cat grin as he couldn’t help but add, “If **_I’m_** gonna be an emotional hot mess, I’m taking _you_ down **_with me_** …”

“ _You asshole…_ ” Katie joked, hiking her leg higher to rest against Chris’ hip, “I guess this means war then…”

[Originally posted by everythingrelationshipsx](https://tmblr.co/Zdtpfh2J-zZrE)

It was forty-five minutes after waking up when I padded out of the master bedroom of the suite, hair no doubt advertising what Chris and I had been doing along with the loose, rolling gait I knew I walked with thanks to having my legs wrapped around Chris as we made sweet and romantic love at a leisurely pace. 

The short robe I pulled on covered all the pertinents as I hummed my way towards the small kitchenette in search of coffee, one hand tangled in my hair to attempt combing out the natural texture that would easily twist and knot if not secured up and out of the way when I was startled by Scott calling his greeting.

“ **Morning** , _**Sunshine…**_ ” He practically shouted from the couch, making me jump with a curse. I hadn’t been expecting to be pounced on like that since when Chris and I had finally called it a night at nearly two in the morning, Scott hadn’t come back up from the card tables.

I turned to wave my hello, blushing slightly when he went on to say while pointing at two carts next to the dining table on the other side of the room, “Room service brought breakfast up a little while ago, but I didn’t want to… ** _interrupt_** …there’s coffee in the carafe, it should still be hot.”

“ _Thanks Scott…_ ” I said, ducking my head as I changed course, heading for the catering carts. I found domes covering plates of baked goods, fresh fruit, carafes of coffee and orange juice, a kettle of hot water and tea sachets, and boxes of cereal spread out in front of me.

“ _Did you…?_ ” I asked with a point at the food.

“ _Naww_ , **_that_** was all Chris.” Scott told me around a mouthful of eggs, having decided that if we hadn’t joined him, he’d make sure they were enjoyed while still hot. “That way we didn’t have to go out for breakfast…which is kind of _beyond the point_ now…”

“ _What?_ What do you mean…?” I asked, plucking a croissant, a cinnamon roll and a bear claw from the pastry platter before picking at the fresh fruit for pineapple, strawberries and grapes to add to my plate. Setting it down on the table, I poured my coffee and prepped it as I went on asking Scott, “ _Scott_ …do people _know_ you guys are _here?_ ”

“ _Yeah._ ” He blurted, swallowing before going on to add, “ _At least… **I**_ got spotted while playing cards last night, _that much I know._..took a few pictures and signed some autographs…hell, I even got a few numbers…”

“But what about Chris?”

“There’s some speculation on Twitter as to whether or not he’s here.” He admitted, shoveling another forkful of food into his mouth as I made a quick clip over to the couch, joining him on the cushions. Scott turned, facing me while resting his right arm on the back of the couch, holding his plate up to pick a berry to pop in his mouth, chewing as he explained, “I guess a couple people _think_ they spotted him while we checked in last night…it’s a good thing you guys stayed in the room last night…”

“Well, there goes _my plan_ for this morning…”

[Originally posted by davidmuhn](https://tmblr.co/Z1-Aah2Nbvdoa)

Looking away from Scott, I caught Chris as he crossed the great room, running a hand through his hair; he had pulled on his underwear and nothing else, not worried about the state of undress around Scott and I but far more concerned about the fact I had slipped out of the room when he got up to use the restroom.

“ ** _What plan?_** ” I inquired with a raised brow.

“ ** _Oh my Gahhhd_** , _can’t_ you put some pants on?” Scott spat upon finding Chris as he walked past the couch to head to the breakfast spread for a glass of juice, grabbing a mini box of Fruit Loops and a banana after giving the spread a once-over. “Or a _robe_ , at least?”

Chris shifted the items he held to his left arm, pinning them to his naked torso to flip his brother the bird while walking over to take up the chair next to the end of the couch. 

The box of cereal got set in his lap, the glass of juice got put on the table before he sat back in the chair, kicking his feet up, finally settling in and peeling his banana while explaining, “I had Tyler set up something for you and I…-” 

Looking up from the fruit, he smiled in my direction as he lifted it to his lips and bit off a decent sized chunk, chewing as he added, “-I’ll just have to make a call and have them come up here now…”

I had a chunk of pineapple halfway to my mouth, my arm frozen as I narrowed my eyes, watching him closely as he swallowed, wordlessly questioning him about what he had done now; Chris chuckled softly, taking another bite before holding his hands high in surrender, what remained of the banana still clutched tight in his grip, adding, “I mean…I **_don’t_** **_have_** to see if I can change our couples massage from down in the spa to here in our room… _just thought you might like that today…_ ”

“ _Massage?_ ” I whispered, eyes round in surprise at hearing one of my favorite words. 

Chris nodded, licking his lips clean of any residual banana.

“ _I can still cancel…_ ” He offered with grin, knowing full well I wouldn’t let him do any such thing.

“ ** _Like hell you will…_** ”

Scott barked out a deep laugh next to me as I stared down Chris, who could only grin as he polished off his banana, setting the peel on the table and picking up his glass of orange juice for a long drink.

“ _Don’t you have to go down to the shops?_ You’ve got to pick up the shit **_YOU_** forgot to pack, _riiiight_?” Chris reminded me while opening up the cardboard box containing his cereal, changing the subject; he was enjoying this turn of events since in the last few months, it was always me that smugly shoved items left in hotel rooms or misplaced in the oddest places back into his hands before taking off.

Leaning over, I snagged the tiny box from his grip before he handed it over for me to pry open the plastic bag inside; it took two tugs, but I pulled as many colorful rings from the baggie as I could catch in my fingertips before I pushed it back into his hands, telling him, “ _Shut up…I’ve had a lot on my mind recently…_ ”

“What’d you forget?” Scott asked, somewhat confused.

“Makeup stuff…” Chris piped up, but I went on to explain further.

“Foundation…a makeup sponge…a few more things. I dropped my setting powder and lost the entire container to the floor last night, so luckily, there’s a Sephora in the Forum shops…”

“ _Well_ …our appointment is in an hour, but pending on whether or not they can send people up here…” Chris started, twisting to look at the clock in the kitchenette, “Most of the shops usually open in fifteen minutes…”

“ _I’ll be back in forty-five._ ” I blurted, moving my plate in a rush to the coffee table to spring off the couch, darting back to the bedroom to get dressed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her move so fast in all the time I’ve known her…” I heard Scott say as I lost my footing and nearly fell forward onto my face before springing back up with my hands covering my ass where the robe had flipped up, showing the black bikini briefs I had worn to bed the night before and pulled back on before slipping out of the room; bold yellow letters proclaimed ‘ _10 points for Hufflepuff_ ’ across the ass, but I hadn’t been quick enough to prevent my soon to be brother-in-law from catching the show it seemed, as I soon heard Scott cackling, “ ** _Oh my GAAHHHD…_** ”

“ **SHUT UP!!!** ” I shouted as I rounded the corner, holding the hem tight under my butt as Chris’ laughs joined Scott’s, following me down the hall.

[Originally posted by aavengingevans](https://tmblr.co/Z3Weme2O8rzlU)

It only took me a matter of minutes to throw clothes on-a sports bra, leggings, the t-shirt I had worn the previous day and one of Chris’ flannels; I ran a brush through my hair in an attempt to tame the ‘just had sex’ look, capping it off with an oversized beanie I hadn’t realized I packed until my fingers found it in the suitcase.

I hadn’t been paying attention, typing in a list of what I needing to get into my phone when I collided with a solid mass of muscle and ended up landing on my ass on the cold marble of the bathroom floor.

“ _Oww._ ” I whined, looking up the length of Chris’ body. His expression offered an amused but bashful apology as he offered me a hand.

“Sorry…”

“Thanks a lot…now my ass hurts…”

He got great amusement out of my statement, giggling as he leaned down to give me a kiss, his hand pushing mine out of the way to softly rub the flesh in question.

“Want me to kiss it and make it _bettah_?” He asked with a grin and a little pat.

“Ain’t nobody got time for that… _I gotta go_ …” I laughed, pushing him out of my way to retrieve my flats. I was bent at the waist, pulling them on, telling him, “I got makeup to buy…a massage to get ready for…and _**THEN**_ I gotta get ready for my wedding. I got _a lot of shit_ to do, and _not enough time_ …and quite frankly, if you get _anywhere_ near my ass, _none_ of it’s _gonna get done_.”

“Well… _about that_ …”

Freezing in place, I turned my face ever so slowly to look at Chris. I hadn’t noticed before, but he was partially dressed now. “About _what_? _**What** did you do?_ ”

“I called the spa. They can’t send anybody up to us…so, I guess we’re going down to them.”

“Do you want to risk being seen? Are you _sure_ you want to be spotted going to the spa with me, right now? _Hours_ before we elope?”

“Kay, it’s almost ten in the morning…we’re getting married in less than seven hours. We’re gonna get spotted when he head out for the chapel…and if not then…at some point tonight, somebody will spot us. That’s a fact.” He shrugged, reaching for a shirt in his suitcase to pull on. “I don’t want to hide up here all day. I want to go spend some time with my girl, just us…kind of a ‘last date before we get hitched’ type of thing.”

Standing back to full height, I rested all my weight on one hip, arms bending to press my fists into my hips while cocking my head to the right, asking somewhat incredulously, “Are…are you trying to tell me that you’re planning on going to Sephora with me right now? _Willingly?_ ”

“Somebody has to make sure you’re in and out of there quickly…” He joked as his head popped through the top of the shirt; his hair had been a glorious monument to bedhead before, but with the added styling of his shirt, his longer hair stuck out in all directions thanks to there being no product to tame it. He stepped toward me, reaching around my hip to snag my Bass Pro trucker hat from the top of his suitcase, where it had been stowed before we rushed out of my apartment the evening before, telling me, “Seriously, we gotta go if we’re gonna make our massage appointment. _Come on_.”

* * *

[Originally posted by slightdownpour](https://tmblr.co/ZK6izg2A9UMQQ)

Ten minutes. Ten whole minutes passed from when Chris walked out of the suite, with Katie holding his hand the entire time, before he caught somebody leaning into another person to whisper behind their hand, and shortly after, as Katie and he walked past the big ‘Trevi Fountain’ at the heart of the Forum shopping complex and headed for Sephora, he heard his name spoken behind him.

“That dude looks like Chris Evans…” A young man pointed out in a dramatic whisper. Another person agreed, and Chris felt Katie pick up her pace to tell him without words it was alright to speed out of that situation.

Letting his breath out in a long sigh, Chris glanced over to Katie; she offered him a tiny, apologetic smile before mouthing, _‘I told you so…_ ’

He kept an eye open, waiting…but nobody approached him, so they kept on walking towards their destination, while rounding his shoulders and pulling his hat low.

The overpowering wave of warring scents hit him in the face upon walking into the makeup store a few minutes later, and a little cough built in Chris’ throat; he cleared the irritation behind a fist as Katie snagged a mesh tote from just inside the doors, nodding for him to follow her as she weaved around the store, politely declining assistance from uniformed employees while Chris pulled and adjusted the bill of his hat, keeping his face lowered to not draw more attention to who he was while his soon to be bride shopped.

He watched as she scouted for the correct aisles, stopping to scan displays for exactly what she needed before moving on to find the next item on her list, following her like a lost puppy until they stopped at a display and she stood staring at tiny discs of eyeshadow, lost in her own head.

“ _What are you doing, babe?_ ” Chris leaned into her, bending to get a closer look at all the colors. “ _What are we lookin’ at?_ ”

“Eyeshadow…” Katie told him, almost absent mindedly as she ran a finger over the surface of one color before drawing a line of red-purple on the back of her hand before repeating the action four more times with other colors, some shimmery, some glittery, some just a flat shade…she held her hand up, pointing at the first and third colors she’d swiped onto her skin, asking, “What do you think of these two?”

Chris looked at them again, the cranberry color and a metallic pink that matched the metal of her engagement ring, his face frowning as he thought about them briefly.

“They’re nice, I mean…I like them…do you like them?” The unimpressed look she gave him had him lifting his hands in surrender with a soft laugh, “ _Sorry…_ stupid question. Get them if you like them…I don’t know what most of this shit is for, Kay…I mean, I just sit in the chair and let the makeup team do their job, but if you’re asking for _my opinion_ , I like both of those-” he confessed while reaching to the display to point at another disc, adding, “- _and this one_. I think it contrasts well with the two you showed me. It caught my eye.”

Katie turned to face him, her head cocked to one side with her mouth hanging open in surprise.

“ _What?_ ” He asked, “ _Was that the wrong thing to say?_ ”  

“No. It wasn’t…” Katie smiled, leaning into him to peck his lips tenderly. “You just helped me pick out shadows, and were _actually_ helpful…I’ve _never_ had a man do that before. _I’m a little gobsmacked right now, Chris…_ ”

“Why? Because I’m _actually_ interested in what you’re doing? Because I’m _asking questions_ and am _genuinely curious_ about what you’re getting?” He asked.

“Well… _yeah_.” Katie answered before turning it right back around and asking him, “You’re not just… _saying that_ , right? Are you actually… _genuinely_ curious about what I’m picking out right now?”

Chris shrugged once more, reaching to take the basket from her hand so he could rifle around inside, pulling what looked to be a retractable comb from the contents to hold up, saying, “I mean…some of this stuff I’ve never seen before, so… _yeah, I am_.   _What the hell is this thing?_ ”

“It’s an eyelash comb…to brush out clumps of mascara and lift your eyelashes while it dries. I broke one last week and forgot that I misplaced the other one from my client kit, so…” Katie explained as she took the comb from his hand to unfold it to show him before closing it back up and dropping the tool back into the basket, making sure to remind him, “Remember, not _all of us_ are so blessed as to have _mile long eyelashes_ that **_always_** look amazing…”

“And what about _this_?” Chris asked, face full of concern and confusion as he lifted a thin box showing a flat, egg shaped looking compact. “ _What_ does this do?”

“It’s a blotting sponge.” Katie smiled, explaining further, “You use it to absorb excess oil off your skin and combat shine while making sure your makeup stays in place and looks fresh…” Pausing, she let her head tilt to the right, watching him closely for a beat, a smile growing on her face as she asked, almost in disbelief, “You’re actually enjoying this, _aren’t you?_ ”

“Maybe not all the perfume that’s in here…but yeah, I’m _enjoying_ getting to spend time with you. I’m _enjoying_ finally getting to see you ‘work’…” Chris admitted happily, his hand moving to reach for hers to hold, his thumb brushing the back of her hand. “Like I said, I know the basics when it comes to this stuff. I grew up with a mom, and two sisters that used makeup…I work in a field where most of the time, I’m wearing it…but outside of listening to the team as they get me ready to shoot and asking them questions…” He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly to emphasize he was being completely honest in his admission, going on to confess, “Babe, this is something you’re passionate about…and something you’re _damn well good at_ , I might add. Robin and some of the other girls in the makeup department were impressed with your work…at least, the stuff I showed them after your trip to Atlanta. They think you could work on films…Babe, you could make a name for yourself within the industry if you wanted, and if that’s something you’d be interested in doing, I’ll do everything I can to help, because _I’m **proud** of you_.”

Katie’s face pinched, and she stepped into him, her arms snaking around his neck as she buried her face into his, her voice high and tight as she said, “ _Chris…_ ”

His right arm held her tight while his left hand lifted to wipe at his eyes before turning to kiss Katie’s temple, admitting, “So to answer your question, _yeah, I’m actually enjoying_ standing in the makeup store with you, comparing colors. But don’t expect this to be a regular occurrence…I’ve still got a shit load of questions, and I want to watch you work, but it’ll be from the privacy and convenience of home.”

Katie sniffed as she stood back, emotions still showing across her face as a smile broke out.

“You just opened Pandora’s Box, mister…” She teased. Moving out of his embrace, Katie turned back to the display and the task at hand, but soon glanced back over in Chris’ direction, biting her lip before asking, “Do you **_really_** mean that?”

“ _What?_ That I’m proud of you?” He countered with a lopsided grin; moving the flannel she wore, his flannel, so he could slip his hand underneath, coming to rest against the small of her back, Chris rubbed a reassuring touch of his thumb as he continued to explain, “ ** _I am_**. In fact, given what’s happening later… _I should probably make a little confession._ ”

Katie’s forehead lifting in question had him chuckling softly.

“Nothing bad, just…remember that first weekend, after we met?” Chris asked; Katie nodded, silent. “Well, after you left to come home…I missed you, and I, _uhhh_ …I **_maaaaay_** have Googled you.”

“You _‘googled_ ’ me?” Katie laughed, clapping a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound from drawing more attention to them. It took her a moment to get her giggling under control, but once she lowered her hand, Katie leaned in close, to whisper, “Is _that_ what we’re calling it now, because I hate to point out, that _wasn’t_ the _first_ time you ‘ _googled_ ’ me…”

“ _Noooo_ , I Googled you so I could look at your website…your Instagram…Facebook…you’ve got that thing locked down, I couldn’t see anything other than your profile picture and your name pretty much…” Chris admitted. “Like I said, _I missed you_ , so I went skimming through anything I could find, and I ended up spending that weekend learning about your business. That’s why I introduced you to Robin and the rest of the crew in Atlanta…’cause **_I’m proud of you_**.”

“Stalker.” Katie whispered in amusement, teasing him.

“That’s rich, coming from a woman that’s been lusting after me for what…? Sixteen years? Following my career, pinning pictures of me to her wall…”

“One.” Katie stated with a roll of her eyes and a single finger held aloft, “I had _one picture_ on my wall as a teenager… **and** the Mystery Date game…’Tyler the Surfer Dude’ was my favorite. He was like _all_ the guys I had crushes on when we lived on the coast…”

“‘Tyler the Surfer Dude’ was a _douche_.” Chris pointed out. “ _What a dick_! You had _terrible_ taste in guys back then…”

“Yeah, I think you’re right…I don’t think my taste has _improved_ too much since then.” Katie ribbed him, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“You _gotta stop_ trolling the bottom of the barrel. Gotta raise your standards…” He teased with a shake of his head.

“You think I can do better? Know anybody?”

“I can think of someone…” Chris parried rather nonchalantly. “ _Tall, muscled, grows a great beard, can make you laugh…_ ”

“Hemsworth? He’s already married with kids though…”

“ _You little shit_ …I’m gonna get you back for that…” Chris warned, fighting a laugh from bubbling out of him at her smart comeback.

“I’m just kidding.” She called, “I’ve _sworn off_ brawny blokes from Down Under. Now I only go for Meatballs from Massachusetts.”

“ _Damn right you do_ …come on, Sassy, grab your eyeshadows. We gotta get going…we got a schedule to keep, or did your forget?”

“Six hours, twenty-three minutes…”

“You’re not eager at all, _are you_?”

“Just as much as _you_ , Boom.” Katie smiled, shooting him a wink as she slipped her hand around the inside of elbow, giving him a gentle squeeze. “Come on, I got everything I need. Both in the basket and in **_you_**.”

“Flattery will get you _everywhere_ …-” Chris joked with a tip of his head towards her, “- _including_ my pants.”

“ ** _Especially_** in your pants…” Katie whispered conspiratorially.

[Originally posted by bvlackcxhanels](https://tmblr.co/Zwom6y2CU597y)

* * *

“So…you’re telling me, that what we just spent…that’s only a _fraction_ of what you invest on a regular basis? And that’s only one shade of foundation… _how many_ do you have in your kit for clients?”

We were walking back from Sephora, out of the themed mall and starting to cross the huge expanse of gaming floor to make for the spa to keep our massage appointment; Chris had shown genuine interest in what I shopped for, and even we were pressed for time, I answered any questions he posed while in line to check out, particularly enjoying the moment he picked up the individually packed face masks, wanting to know the differences between them and the tiny jar of mud masks in a cubbie hole directly in front of me; I told him that the paper masks were more for quick surface issues or rejuvenation while the mud masks were for imperfections, and before I knew it, he tossed a couple of the foil packets and a trial jar of GlamGlo into my basket, telling me, ‘ _Scott can’t say I never buy him shit…_ ’

“ _Hmmm_ , I think I’ve got…” I said, pausing to mentally check my inventory, “ _Ten_? Ten main shades that allow me to mix up any color, but there’s only three or four that I have a quick turn over for and have to replace often. It gets expensive, but thankfully the women that come to Vegas and want to get their makeup done have the money to do it, and it’s my job to make sure they get the most bang for their buck with long lasting application and using quality products. Thanks to Anna, business has been… _very good_ for the last six months, but since **_you_** came into the picture-” I glanced at Chris out of the corner of my eyes with a sly smile, teasing him, “-my Yelp ratings have taken a hit, and I’ve had to pass off clients to Rita and the other girls at the salon. What did you text Anna that first night we went out? ‘ _She’s gonna be bad for business’_? **_You’ve_** been bad for business, Mister…it’s a good thing it’s _quality dick_.”

That teasing jab had Chris throwing his head back as that infectious trademarked cackle of his rang out, sounding like heaven to my ears as I caught his right hand raising to his clutch his chest, my black and white Sephora bag hanging from his grip. 

Unable to contain my happiness that getting him to laugh, I bumped my shoulder into his, smiling up at him while giving his hand a squeeze.

“ _I like this_.” I told him softly as we turned down the corridor titled Cleopatra’s Way, my left hand now crossed in front of me to rub along the length of Chris arm, “Being out with you in public during _daytime_. _Not caring_ if we’re seen together. You carrying my bags and holding my hand…acting like a happy couple. _This is nice_.”

His face turned just enough to show me a tiny smile lifting the corners of his mouth once he had stopped laughing; he tilted into me, whispering in agreement, “ _This **IS** nice_. It’ll be _even nicer_ when you put your ring _back on_ and we _won’t_ have to hide at _all_.”

“One step at a time, Chris…-” I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder briefly before the bouncing of our steps had him knocking into my skull as we continued on our way, a sign for Cleopatra’s Barge bar looming closer as well as directing us to the spa further down, “- _one step at a time._ ”

The rest of the walk through the casino went by in a flash, without too much foot traffic on the floor and the people that were playing slots at that hour were so focused on the machines that we went unnoticed, just another couple walking the carpet.

Chris stepped out of my hold as we walked under the sign proclaiming the entrance to Qua, the casino’s spa, his hand moving to my back to usher me in first along the marble and stone hallway. The sound of our footsteps echoing louder as we left the din of the casino with its bells, whistles and noise to fade behind us, eventually rounding a corner to walk into an open lobby space.

“Good morning, welcome to Qua, how may I help you?” A middle aged woman asked from behind the counter as she spotted us walk in.

“I called earlier, we have a couples massage at 10:45…” Chris started and the woman lit up, smiling wide at us both as she turned to check the appointment list.

“ _Ah_ , yes…I’m sorry we couldn’t change the location, Mr. McQueen…”

I had been looking around the lobby, taking in the atmosphere with the low back lighting on the warm rock work and the retail space, but upon hearing the spa employee address Chris with the fake name he’d given, I stopped mid turn, my forehead showing my confusion and concern as I focused on him.

“McQueen? **_Really?_** ” I asked on chuckle, my brow arching high; Chris glanced over at me out of the corner of his eye, smiling as I heaved a heavy sigh, rolling my eyes. Leaning forward, I braced my hands on the edge of the counter top, asking the woman working, “Is there a first initial in from of McQueen?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, there isn’t…”

“There’s a fifty-fifty chance I know who you meant…” I mused, biting my lip before I leaned on my left elbow, watching Chris for any sign that might confirm which of the two options I had before me. “Mr. **_MCQUEEN_**. So, which one is it-Steve _or_ -”

His smile grew wider, eyes crinkling as he fought to keep his laughter under control.

[Originally posted by smolightning](https://tmblr.co/Z-GnPe2NhIaiR)

“Oh my God…you’re _such_ a dork.” I bubbled, shaking my head.

“If you’ll follow me, Mr. McQueen, we have your room ready, but the note on the reservation is reminding me to ask which of the couples massage packages you’d like to book today? Did you need to look over our menu or would you like to go with the standard massage package?”  
  


Chris turned to face me head on, asking without words what I wanted.

“I’d like to see the menu.” I told the woman, spotting her name tag and discovering her name was Serena. The woman’s eyes widened for the briefest second as a flash of ‘oh-kay…’ passed over her face before sliding a laminated ‘menu’ across the counter towards me.

Skimming over the options, I saw the general options of a couples Swedish, a couples deep tissue, the usual aromatherapy, but finding the next option, I paused. Eyebrows lifting as I read the description, I pointed to the massage in question, looking up to ask Chris, “Did you see _this_? I can’t say I’m not _intrigued_ …”

Chris leaned over, scanning the menu, his face breaking into a beaming smile as he admitted, “Oh, I _thought_ about it…”

“ _Why am I not surprised…_ ” I said under my breath. Looking up, I told Serena, “As _fun_ as the Couples Karma Sutra sounds…I think we’ll just stick with the standard option.”

“Alright…follow me.” Serena smiled, ushering Chris and I towards the inner workings of the spa to change and get settled before heading to the massage room to begin.

I felt Chris’ hand connect to the small of my back, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking to him, one brow arched and a sassy smirk while holding a hand out, “ _AGE_ before _BEAUTY_ , Mr. **_McQueen_** …”

“I don’t remember Sally being so sassy…come on, follow the nice lady, babe.” Chris teased quietly; I hadn’t been aware he’d moved his hand from my back until it came crashing down to land a loud swat to my ass, making me jump in alarm, which only made him burst out laughing, proclaiming with a wink in my direction, “ ** _Ka-CHOWWWW!_** ”

[Originally posted by t2-infinity-and-beyond](https://tmblr.co/Z6_ecd2NFfe3y)


	2. Meatballs Get Married Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time to head back up to the room to start getting ready, but not before being put on the spot on the walk through the casino from the spa…

  


 

Visual inspo

[Originally posted by lelucibianchediparigi](https://tmblr.co/Zxjhpo1wVhO3N)

* * *

 

“Babe…”

Chris’ voice softly calling me back from the verge of deep sleep took a few seconds to register in my hazy state.

“ _Baaaabe_ …baby…”

Inhaling deeply, I slowly turned my head, opening my eyes to find Chris leaning over me, partially dressed as he rubbed a hand over my shoulder.

“Did you fall asleep on the table?” He asked, chuckling when I nodded infinitesimally. “ _That_ good, huh?”

“It was _heaven_.” I yawned, stretching my body from the plank position I had assumed for the second half of the massage.

Chris stood back to full height, pulling his shirt on before offering me a hand to sit up.

“I could tell…-” He smiled, “-you were making some _very_ evocative sounds for a minute. I’m glad you enjoyed that…”

“I _did_ …did _you_ enjoy it?” I asked while turning to drop my legs over the edge of the massage table; Chris stretched to snag the pile of my clothes, handing them over with a smile and a nod.

“I did…I mean, you know I’ve got nervous energy, so this isn’t always something I like, because it’s hard to relax with some stranger touching me…” Chris admitted, leaning his weight on his left side with his arm braced on the table as I slipped off it to stand and begin dressing, adding, “But I _really_ enjoyed the company…”

I had just pulled on my sports bra and was struggling with getting the material in place when I teased him, “Yeah, the company was great, I’ll give you that _but_ …Inga worked all my tension out. I’m think I’m in love.”

“I give you my permission to come visit Inga as often as you want, but only if you promise to only make those sounds for me and _only me_ from now on. Okay?” Chris countered, chuckling at the sight of me fighting with the band that was rolled and twisted around my torso. He reached over, shoving his fingers up under the material along my back, helping me by grabbing the stretchy fabric I couldn’t reach and giving it a tug.

“ _Fiiiiiine._ ” I sighed, rolling my eyes playfully as I adjusted the bra to cover my chest, shoving my hands inside to ensure ‘the girls’ were where they should be and behaving. I had lowered my face to go about the task at hand when Chris’ hands joined mine, coming to rest over my breasts. I lifted my gaze, finding him grinning down at me as his thumbs began a gentle caress. “ _Excuse you_ …” I giggled, “I don’t remember asking you to hold up my boobs…and I certainly don’t remember telling you to play with my nipples right now…”

“No…but you just presented the perfect opportunity for me, and I’m not a man to pass up the chance…”

“No, and while I normally am all for you seizing the moment…we don’t have time, remember?” I pointed out.

Chris heaved a heavy sigh, giving my boobs a gentle squeeze before bending to kiss the cleavage left exposed, whispering, “We’ll play later…I promise.”

“ _Oh my God_ …you’re a dork.”

“And I’m _alllllll_ yours, my love.” Chris smiled, standing once more and pressing in to kiss me. “You ready to head back upstairs and start getting ready?”

Nodding, I answered, “Yeah…it’s gonna take a few hours. I’ve got to shower, wash, dry and style my hair, my makeup…you’re lucky, ya know.”

Chris just leveled a raised brow at me in question to what I had meant with that last comment.

“You and Scott…you just have to jump in the shower, maybe shave if that’s what you want to do, takes all of five minutes to do your hair… ** _you_** get to relax for the next couple of hours until you have to get dressed so we can leave for the chapel…it’s crunch time for **_me_**. I’m gonna be stressing until late into the night…”

“I get you stressing out about getting ready, but why are you going to be stressing out long into the night?”

“Getting ready, getting there, not falling on my face when I walk down the aisle, worrying about being spotted…” I listed while pulling on my shirt, shrugging my shoulders as I added, “It’s a big day. It’s one of those days you spend your whole life thinking about, and you just expect it to go a certain way…”

“And how has it gone so far, Katie? Is everything living up to your expectations?” Chris asked, his hands having moved from my breasts to grip my legs just above my knees. “You planning on goin’ through with it still?”

Sitting on the edge of the massage table, I took him in; over the course of the last six days, Chris had consistently asked, in a joking manner, if I had changed my mind, if I had cold feet and might call it off last minute; I had brushed it off as him just trying to make light of the subject, trying to keep me laughing through this last stretch, but something about how he said it this last time had me scanning him for any sign I could find.

“ _Chris_ …I’m ** _NOT_** going anywhere.” I told him after he figured out what I had been doing, leaning back to challenge me with his own narrowed gaze. “Baby, is this…is eloping everything _**you**_ want for today?”

“Why would you ask me that, Kay? I’ve been ready to get married…” Chris started but I interrupted him, standing from the table.

“I asked you because since you got here, you’ve asked me in every which way imaginable if I’m still planning on showing up to the chapel later today to marry you.” I explained, pushing gently against his stomach to get him to back up so I could finish getting dressed; he stepped back enough for me to lean against the table, pulling on my leggings as I added, “Do you have cold feet?”

“No.” He told me just a tad too quickly, his head shaking from side to side in wide sweeps. His hands closed around my upper arms, making me look up from my task of getting dressed to meet his eyes. “I just…can’t help but expect _this_ …I can’t help but expect to wake up tomorrow and have the last few months be a really nice dream. And I keep waiting for you to tell me that eloping is mistake…that you’re going to be disappointed at not having the fairy tale to think back on in the years to come…”

“Chris.. _.I told you_ , I’d be fine with walking into City Hall and getting married by a Justice of the Peace, because all the pomp and circumstance… _all that show_ …I’m on the verge of a panic attack just needing to get ready for **_this_** …all that matters to me is saying ‘I do’ and hearing ‘now you may kiss the bride’.” I admitted, standing straight and tall while touching his cheeks with my finger tips. “So, yes…today is shaping up to be everything I’ve ever wanted it to be, because at the end of it, I’m going to walk down an aisle, and hopefully not face plant…I’m going to walk down an aisle and **marry** **_my best friend._** I’m gonna marry you. Everything else is just sprinkles on top.”

A weight seemed to lift off of Chris, the relief of hearing what I had just said finally reaching his eyes before his expression softened.

“Am I your best friend, babe?”

“ _Yeah…_ ” I smiled, “Pretty sad, _huh_?”

“Just a little bit-” He joked before sobering up enough to add, “-but hey, I’m gonna marry **MY** best friend, so I guess we can be that ‘sad’ couple together.” Tilting his head at me and then towards the door, Chris told me, “Come on, Tink, we got a wedding to go get ready for.”

[Originally posted by relationshipaims](https://tmblr.co/ZR8u_m1cT7rTB)

Walking out of the hotel’s spa, Chris reached his hand to Katie’s, taking it to lock their fingers as they headed back to the room. She turned her face just enough to allow her to send a tiny smile up at him.

“So when we get back up to the room, you’re gonna jump in the shower?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to…” Katie spoke softly as they dodged a small group of people blocking the walkway. Chris ducked his face, turning it to shield him from the knot of people as they slipped around and took up their previous stance of walking side by side when she went on to say, “My hair is gonna take a good chunk of time.”

They were focused on each other, not paying much attention to what was happening around them when Chris caught movement out of the corner of his eye; turning his head, Chris saw a man approach, and he felt his breath catch in his throat when the guy slowed to a halt directly in front of them.

Both he and Katie came to quick stop, rearing back slightly at the sudden intrusion when the man began speaking.

“Oh my God… _are you_ …? You _can’t_ be who I think you are… _are you_?”

The surprise of being made with his guard down had Chris feeling the all too familiar sensation of being overwhelmed as the shock had his anxiety ratcheting skywards. 

A gentle squeeze to his hand had Chris turning his face just enough to flick a quick glance at Katie to his side; her expression matched his-eyes huge and round, mouth hanging ever so slightly open, and he could practically see the waves of panic radiating off of her, but when she gave him another squeeze and the left side of her face tilted up in a half smile, he returned the gesture, telling her without words to just follow his lead.

“ _Who_ do you think I am, bro?” Chris asked, lifting his left hand, with the Sephora bag, he fidgeted with his hat.

“Aren’t you Chris Evans?” The man leaned forward to speak softly as to not draw more attention to them, even though this man had stopped them in the middle of one of the hotel’s main walkways. “I keep seeing tweets saying he might be here…so, _are_ you?”

Chris opened his mouth to speak, but Katie beat him to the punch.

“He gets that _ALLLL_ the time…I keep telling him that he needs to go get him a suit and go impersonate him back home at kid’s birthday parties, go cheer up the kids at the hospital…but he just _doesn’t_ listen to me.” Katie spouted off, sounding like a put out girlfriend with a roll of her eyes, but it was the heavy southern twang she spoke with that once more had taken Chris by surprise. “It’d be a great way to earn some extra cash, don’t you think, _Sugar Lips_?”

The intruder seemed somewhat taken aback, turning to goggle at Katie for a moment before turning back to take a closer look at Chris, leaning in to squint and search for any proof he could find.

“I **_swear_** , I don’t know **_HOW_** many times I’ve told him, ‘ _Baaaby_ , you look _just_ like that guy in the Captain America movies’…it’s not just me either, the little ol’ ladies at church, they bring their grandkids up to talk to him after Sunday services.” She went on, leaning her shoulder into him as she turned her face up to smile at Chris, “Don’t they, _baaaaby_?”

Her eyebrows lifting was his cue to jump in.

“Yeah. I mean, I just _don’t_ see it…” Chris offered, slipping into a matching drawl; it was almost a decade later, but in this moment, he was ever so grateful for all the time spent with the dialect coach on the set of The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond working on the best version of a southern accent his Boston upbringing would allow. “I _don’t_ understand why all these girls are twitterpated with him, he’s got a long, crooked nose and scrawny lil’ chicken legs…”

“It’s the muscles.” Katie said a little too quickly, resting her head against his shoulder. “And he’s got a cute little butt too…but I like yours better.”

“So…you’re **NOT** Chris Evans?”

“Bro, I’m just trying to enjoy my trip with my girl. We’ve got plans, and reservations that we’re gonna be late for…” Chris said, trying to create an out for he and Katie to use to make their escape while lifting his hand to scratch at the side of his nose with his thumb, trying to sound exasperated but not rude. “Can I take my girl to a nice lunch? She deserves it, and I don’t want to disappoint her…”

The man still looked skeptical, but Chris could see he wasn’t sure, so he went for it, adding, “Come on man, you got better things to do today than stopping random people in the casino to see if they’re celebrities…and over rated ones _at that_. If I take a picture with you, can I get back to treating my lady to nice trip to Vegas? So you can tell all your buddies back home you saw some B-list movie star?”

“Alright… _sorry for bothering you_ , man.” The other man apologized, reaching to pull his phone from his pocket to hold out to Katie, who moved to face Chris with an amused smile tugging at her mouth. “It’s just…you **_REALLY_** look like Evans. Like, you’re _spot on_ …”

“You’re _not_ the first person to say that, and I’m pretty darn sure you _won’t_ be the last, brother… _here_ -” Chris instructed, holding his arm out for the guy to step in for a picture, “-let’s take a picture, and then _everybody_ can go back to enjoying New Year’s Eve, ‘kay? I’m sure you got something fun planned for later.”

Katie held the phone high, eventually holding her right hand up to countdown from three before telling Chris and his fan, “Say cheese!” a second before snapping pictures.

“All good, man?” Chris asked, clapping his fan on the shoulder once Katie lowered the device and stepped forward to hand it back to the man; he accepted the phone, nodding with a small look of disappointment coloring his face. Chris hated this feeling of letting down a fan, but this was cutting things just a little too close for comfort, and there couldn’t be confirmation of his being in Vegas until after the ink was dry on the marriage license…and even then, if all went according to plan, the world wouldn’t know what they’d done until he told them in a weeks time. “Hey, don’t worry about it, this same thing happened when we were in L.A…I just got one of _those_ faces. I’m cursed, I look like some asshole, I get stopped _all the damn time_ …what’d you say your name was, man?”

“Uhh… _I didn’t_ …my name…it’s Nick, Nick Rogers.”

Chris caught Katie smiling out of the corner of his eye as she slipped back into his side.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Nick Rogers. I’m Lizzie Rynn, and this is Bobby Joe.” Katie introduced while playing up the accent; she hadn’t entirely lied by using bits and pieces of her first and middle names as well as his middle name paired with such a common moniker…hell, everybody had a friend or cousin Joe, right? He had plenty, that was for sure. She sent a huge smile Nick’s way in hopes of selling the smokescreen before pulling her phone from her pocket, making sure to shield it from their new ‘friends’ view to ensure he didn’t see the lock screen photo of Chris laughing hysterically as he opened his ‘Fan Boy’ gift basket two weeks earlier as she checked the time. “Oh my word…I am _sooo_ sorry to cut this short, but _we’re late_ , and if we don’t get movin’, they are gonna give away our table, and I’ve just been _**up** his ass_ about eating at that restaurant on the T.V. where the English man yells at people that think they’re hot shit…it just feeds into my _anger management_ issues…”

Chris couldn’t help but laugh at the way she was working the situation; looping his arm around her neck, he chuckled as he kissed her temple before adding, “Yeah…gotta get it out of her system _before_ she goes back to working with the kids at the daycare and volunteering at the Senior Center back home, they don’t tend to like that side of her coming out, but _ooooh-eeee_ , it sure is sexy when she gets jealous at bar…”

“ _Not_ as sexy as you in rage, _baaaaaby._ ” Katie tilted her face up, smiling widely at Chris, a twinkle lighting her eyes at throwing more and more fuel onto this raging fire of a shit show, adding, “I _love_ a good bar brawl, especially when you throw me over your shoulder after you win.”

The look on Nick’s face was one of surprised horror as his eyes flicked back and forth between them, so Chris seized the chance to cut and run.

“Alright, _come on_ , Slugger, let’s say goodbye and get going-” Chris gave Katie a squeeze before removing his arm to extend a hand towards Nick, “-it sure was nice to meet you, Mr. Nick Rogers. Have a great rest of your trip, man, and-” Nick accepted his hand, shaking it before Katie offered hers; pointing at Nick, Chris went on to add with a wink “- _Happy New Year_.”

The man stepped back, eyes darting between Chris and Katie in alarm as he nodded, muttering as he continued to back away with a wave, “ _Yeah_ …you too, man. _Uhhh_ …happy…Happy New Year.”

Chris watched as the man scrambled to get away from the messy persona’s they offered, his arm going back to Katie’s neck, holding her tight to his side; almost at the exact same moment, both he and Katie lifted a hand to wave at Nick.

[Originally posted by gifs-for-reference](https://tmblr.co/ZcuPht1HGIjIh)

“ _Have fun storming the castle…_ ” Katie whispered, her lips barely moving; Chris shuttered as he tamped down his laugh, resorting to a loud snort slipping out of him. He turned his face back into the side of hers, pressing his lips to her cheek.

“ _Do you think it worked?_ ” He breathed, loving her reference to The Princess Bride, and rewarding her with one of his own.

The feeling of her body swaying with the continued motion of waving the man off had him grinning when he caught her voice softly adding, “ _It’d take a miracle_ …come on ‘Bobby Joe’, we gotta beat feet before _anybody else_ decides to grow a pair and approach you.”

“ _Really_ , babe? ‘Bobby Joe’…that was the **_BEST_** you could come up with?” Chris laughed as they started moving again.

“On the spot like that, yeah…” She grinned, reaching her right hand up to lace her fingers with Chris’ as they started off in the direction “It was the first thing that popped into my head that wasn’t a flat out lie…if I’ve learned one thing from all the period dramas I’ve watched, it’s when faced with a situation where you have to lie, it’s best to just tell as much of the truth as possible to help yourself from fucking up in the long run.”

That admission had him smiling to himself as he touched his head to the top of hers; his left hand with the shopping bag still dangling from the strings lifted to the bill of Katie’s Bass Pro trucker hat to scratch an itch along his forehead before settling it low on his face once more, asking, “And just _which_ period drama have you gleaned this valuable tidbit of information from, _hmm?_ ”

“Outlander.” She said matter of factly as they rounded the corner, approaching the registration desk for the Nobu hotel; Katie pulled her hand from his to retrieve the card key from the pocket of the flannel shirt to show security. The man behind the counter nodded, allowing them to pass onto the elevator bank when Katie added, “ _Great story_ …I think you’d like it. Historical fiction, time travel…plenty of material to read, since there’s currently eight books in the series and they’re all **_HUGE_**.”

“Why am I not surprised… _you fahking bookworm_.”

“What can I say, I like big books and I cannot lie…” She teased, knocking her shoulder into his arm playfully. “You know you love it.”

“I do.” He smiled, loving the way those two words sounded coming out of his mouth in that moment; leaning in, Chris kissed the tip of her nose before standing back to tell her, “It only reinforces me calling you my ‘Belle’. You’re not taken by the usual superficial trappings of life, and more importantly, you hardly ever ‘shudder at my paw’.”

“ _Nerd-_ ” She countered, leaning her head on his shoulder once more, enjoying a quick cuddle as she teased, “-but I still love you in spite of it.”

“It’s the devil-magic dick, _isn’t it_?” He couldn’t help but joke, a shit eating grin spreading over his face as he watched the doors in front of them.

Katie’s hand lifted in front of them, her thumb and forefinger held apart only the tiniest distance.

“Maybe just a little bit…” She giggled, catching his eye to share a laugh as the elevator dinged and a second later the doors slid open.

* * *

By the time they got back to the room, it was nearly 1 PM, and Katie was beginning to fidget, biting her lip and muttering about ‘need to get my ass in gear if we were going to make our allotted time frame at the chapel across the street’. Chris had the key card, and as soon as the light turned green, Katie pushed inside, almost knocking Chris off balance.

“Hey, how was the spa?” Chris heard Scott ask as Katie took off running towards the master bath.

“Great! Can’t talk, behind schedule, gotta shower…” She yelled, yanking off her beanie to toss in the air before pulling off the flannel shirt; throwing it to her right a second before reaching the hallway, it went flying. Chris’ hearty cackle rang out as he watched as she found the hem of her t-shirt, whipping it up and over her head while jumping on one foot as she kicked off her flats. “Talk to Chris.”

Scott’s face turned to look for Chris, his forehead lifted high, mouth hanging open as he pointed down the hall in direction the tornado took. The muted sound of door being kicked shut told them she made it to the bathroom; Chris grabbed Scott’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

“The spa was good. In hindsight, I _probably_ should waited and taken her tomorrow…”

“Why?”

“Because they spent and hour and a half working her into a relaxed pile of Jello, and now she’s _back_ to being stressed out…” Chris chuckled. Scott shook his head, rolling his eyes at his soon to be sister-in-law and her self-imposed ‘getting ready’ anxiety.

“Hey, I picked you up a few things. _Here_ -” Chris remembered, holding up the black and white bag to show Scott; the younger Evans brother lifted a brow in question as Chris pulled the tissue paper, letting it drift to the floor as he reached into to the bag and pulled the foil mask packets along with the tiny jar of what Katie said was ‘mud mask’ before shoving them into Scott’s chest, saying, “-since you didn’t get to go…I got you these, so…enjoy. Knock yourself out, bro.” His hand now free, Chris set it back on Scott’s shoulder, clapping it three times and giving him a tiny shake.

“ _Gee…_ -” Scott sounded, holding up the items to get a better look at the labels before turning to look at Chris with a flat stare, “- ** _thanks_**. You just dropped at least half a grand on a couples massage with Kay, but _thank you_ for splurging fifty bucks on an ‘at home’ spa experience for me.”

“Hey, I know it was kind of a dick move to not have something set up for you, but it was kind of last minute, and I promise, I’ll finish making up for it later, okay?” Chris offered; Scott only narrowed his eyes, continuing to level him with a glare. Taking a deep breath, Chris let it out in a sigh, adding, “To start, since we have some time to kill before we need to start getting ready…wanna put that mud shit on and have a beer with me?”

Scott’s face moved to show he was considering it and after three long seconds, he knocked his left hand into Chris’ chest.

“Deal. I get a _picture_ though… ** _and_** I get to post it to Instagram too…” Scott countered, pointing a finger in Chris’ face. “I promise to wait until after you announce you got married…hell, maybe I’ll wait and sell it to People magazine. Have you considered contacting them to do a media ‘official’ announcement? All the big announcements go through them…Lance Bass announcing he was gay…Brad and Angelina with the twins…Caitlynn Jenner…I mean, at least they’re reputable.”

Another deep sigh escaped Chris. This was a subject he had delayed discussing or even thinking about for as long as he possibly could…but he knew that his brother had good intentions, and as much as he hated talking about his personal life in interviews, this was going to have to happen whether he liked it or not.

“ _Just think about it_ …if you announce it on the Globes carpet like you’re thinking of doing, you’re gonna have the fahking world in a tailspin and clamoring to find any detail they can dig up on her, on your relationship…if you head that whole fiasco off at the pass by giving the exclusive to a reputable magazine, _you_ get to set the terms, _you’re_ in charge of all the variables, it will fulfill everybody’s curiosity and then you don’t have to talk about anymore unless you want to. Just one and done it, bro. Just like a band-aid, the quicker you rip that fahker off, the less it’s gonna hurt.”

“ _When_ the fahk did you get so smart?”

Scott shrugged, “Good looks, smarts…I _would_ say be jealous, but it’s your wedding day. I don’t want to be a **_complete_** dickhead.”

“ _Thanks,_ you asshole.”

* * *

Skidding around the corner of the master bedroom’s door, I tried to keep my balance as I felt my feet slip on the carpet when I shifted towards the bathroom.

“ _Shiiiiiiiiiit._ ” I said through gritted teeth as I found my footing, arms circling like auto-correcting windmill blades. Sighing a breath of relief when I didn’t land on my ass, my face or my hip, I stood back to full height, enjoying the moment briefly before hooking my thumbs into the band of my leggings and pushing them down to the floor. The right side slipped off my foot like butter, but the left got caught on my foot when I started walking before I had successfully stepped out of the material.

“ _Dammit_ … _sonofa_ … ** _GET OFF!!!_** ” I growled as I kicked my left leg wildly, like a twitching dog; after five violent shakes, the leggings relented and I was free to continue on to the bathroom while glancing at my phone for the time. 

Seeing I now only had just under three and a half hours before we had to walk out the door, I felt my eyes round as I walked into the bathroom. 

“ _Fuck it_ …I’ll _drown_ myself in dry shampoo and spend two days washing it all out, I don’t have the time to wash, dry **AND** style…dirty hair, dry shampoo…-” I blew out a stressed breath as I closed my hand around the door, closing it with more force than I thought, “- _oops_ …well, so much for straight hair tonight. Looks like it’s gonna be big hair on my wedding day, Dolly Parton’d be _so proud_.”

[Originally posted by thashanamcqueen](https://tmblr.co/ZRXNwm28yyA3-)

With the door shut, I stripped out of what I was still wearing-the sports bra and my undies, and pulled up iTunes as I walked to the glass enclosed shower, opening the door and turning the faucet on while choosing a playlist.

The sound of water crashing onto the tiled floor filled the room, and two seconds after it started up, music joined the party, pumping me up to get my ass in motion; I moved to seat the phone on the counter, turning up the volume before nestling the speaker into a the ceramic coffee cup I had brought in the night before to act as an impromptu speaker, allowing me to actually hear the songs over the running water.

“Alright-” I proclaimed while clapping my hands together, the loud ‘crack’ echoed around me, fighting with the other sounds as I went on to add for myself, “-let’s do this. Time to make the doughnuts, Kathryn Elizabeth.”

Fifteen minutes later, I was washed, exfoliated, and what parts of me that hadn’t been waxed got a pass over with a razor, kicking off phase two of the marathon; drying off quickly allowed me to pull on the thin robe from earlier so I could move about the suite while the vent sucked out the little bit of humidity left in the bathroom before I went to task on my hair, knowing that was going to take a good chunk of time with only myself working on it.

As I opened the door, I heard the familiar sound of ESPN coming from the living room and with the bedroom empty, I knew that was where both the brothers Evans were, most likely kicked back on the couch with beers in hand.

I made sure the robe covered everything I needed it to, holding the bottom hem tight to form around my ass as I walked out of the room in search of something to pass as ‘lunch’ and also a drink.

“Scotty, are there anymore… ** _OHMYGAWD!_** ” I called from the hallway, turning to cross the room closer to the couch once I spotted the remains of the pastries on the dining table, but a movement out of the corner of my eye had me turning to find both Chris and Scott in the exact position I assumed they would be…only with an unexpected added element. Both men turned to look at me, twisting on the couch; the barest hint of a twitch told me they tried to raise a brow in question, but the nearly dry mud mask they each wore prevented any real proof of an expression from advertising on their faces.

“ _Whu’_?” Scott grunted, his mouth barely moving.

The moment was too perfect, and one I couldn’t have dreamed up to save my life…and it was perfect. Unable to contain myself, I bent at the waist, losing myself to hysterical laughter. It took a minute, with both Chris and Scott trying to ask me what I wanted which only started up over and over again, but I eventually got a hold on myself, whining and wheezing as I wiped away the tears from my eyes.

“ _Whoooooooo…_ ” I sounded, voice cracking with one last giggle of amusement before inhaling deeply to steady myself. “If nothing else, _this_ is the **BEST** wedding present you could have given me, Scott…that’s a good look for you two.”

“Don’t get used to it…” Chris asked, his pronunciation hardly impacted thanks to his beard; I grabbed the hem of my robe once more, shuffling over to him with quiet giggles. Leaning down, got a better look at my handsome, silly man-his forehead, nose and upper cheeks were caked in dried and cracking mud, before I pressed a quick peck to his lips.

“You’re so cute when you try and play Mr. Tough Guy, but come on…we both know you’re a big ol’ softy and if I really wanted to put a treatment on you, you’d let me.” I teased with a huge grin; to the right, Scott made a sound of agreement. Looking between them both, another giggle escaped me before adding, “You should probably go wash that off now, before it sucks too much stuff out of your skin.”

Chris leaned back, getting a better look at me.

“Hey, I thought you were washing your hair? You kept going on and on about washing your hair…” He asked, noting no towel wrapped around my head and my hair piled on the top of my head with a halo of wispy curls springing  out from my hairline.

“I didn’t have time to wash, condition, dry **and** style.” I admitted with a disappointed shrug, but turning back to Scott, I asked, “Scotty, would you be willing to do me a favor in about… _ohhh_ …twenty minutes?”

_“Sh-ure. Wha’ ‘ou nee’, ‘ay?”_

“I need an extra pair of hands to help me curl my hair…cuts the time down considerably with all my hair.” I explained over my shoulder, finally making my way to the table to throw a couple of croissants on a plate.

“He says that’s fine.” Chris called, making me look back to find Scott with a thumb held up for me before he stood, pointing at himself then in the direction of the room he was staying in and finally at his face, motioning washing off the mud.

“Thanks Scott!” I called after him, snagging a bottled water from the table to pin between my arm and side to free up my hand to carry the plate; Chris stood, rounding the couch to come stand in front of me, taking the plate from my grip. “ _Hey_ …that’s my lunch! Give that back, I need to get back into the bathroom to start on my hair…”

“And I need to wash this crap off my face…I’ll carry it for you.” He smiled as he reached to the table, snagging the Sephora bag to hold in front of my face. “Here’s your stuff by the way…you might need it.”

“Thank you.” I said, returning his happy expression while taking the bag; he lifted his now free hand, ushering me to lead the way.

We walked down the hall, Chris following me as we headed to the bathroom; upon stepping through the door, I moved to the far side of the vanity where I had already set out my brush, teasing comb, dry shampoo, curling irons and other hair accoutrements, leaving the basin open for Chris to wash his face once he handed the plate of pastries back to me. Setting the plate on the counter, I moved back to the shower to snag my face wash to help him get all the mask off at the same time Chris turned the faucet on to find his preferred temperature. He bent over the sink, sticking his hands under the water to collect in his cupped palms before bringing to his face.

“Here…” I called to him, tapping the squeeze tube against his bicep. His right arm crossed in front of his chest, his hand blindly groping for the container I held out to him, eventually getting a good grip on it to work on getting a dallop of the goo on his fingertips and then his face.

It took him less than a minute to wash and scrub his face clean, rinsing it thoroughly, but when he stood from the bowl of the sink, two small patches of residual gunk clung to his beard. He hadn’t seen them yet since he was wiping his eyes, but I stepped in, wetting my fingers to wipe away the mask.

“I take it I missed some?” He asked with a soft chuckle as he opened his eyes, smiling down at me. Scrunching my nose, I nodded while rinsing my fingers and moving onto the second patch.

“All good now. You look like a new man, Boomer.”

“My skin feels _funny_ …really tight.”

“That’s because you need to moisturize-” Leaning into Chris, I reached in front of him to snag my moisturizer from the other side of the vanity as I spoke, adding, “-come on Big Guy, close the toilet lid and take a seat.”

His right hand lifted, touching his first two fingers to his forehead in a salute; he looked ridiculously happy with that one particular goofy expression of his lighting his face as did what I instructed, closing the lid and sinking down to sit.

I had followed him, only one step behind until he had settled, when I moved to stand between his spread legs, looking down at him with a matching dreamy smile.

Popping the cap on the tube took little effort and soon I had a tiny swirl of product on my fingers. I dabbed his forehead, nose and both cheekbones with the white cream, smiling at this moment of intimacy and loving every second of it as I began smoothing the moisturizer into his skin; just watching him, it seemed like Chris was enjoying himself-his eyes were closed, the corners of his mouth lifted in a barely there smile, and a soft sigh of contentment escaped him.

“Can it always be like this?” He asked, hands rounding the back of my knees and skimming up along my legs to push under the hem of my robe. I was standing above him, watching him with my hands cupping his face, my thumbs gently stroking his beard as his hands molded to my bare bottom; his lips spread into a mile wide grin at finding I hadn’t pulled on any underwear. Opening his eyes, Chris sighed, “ _Please_? It’s been so long since I’ve had this…the little things just like _this_.”

“I’ll do my best.” I promised, taking my right hand from his cheek to hold in front of his face, all my fingers but the pinky closed, offering it to him. “You do your best too, okay? Pinky promise?”

His hand let go its hold on my flesh, pulling from the robe to loop his little finger with mine.

“Deal.” He said with nod. “You know which specific part of that moment just now was the loudest, most clear declaration of ‘I love you’ to me, Kay?” I shook my head from side to side, telling him ‘no’ so he went on to explain, “You taking care of me…that’s a constant, quiet ‘I love you’, since you’re always doing little things to take care of me, but those five seconds of you just caressing my face…I could feel you watching me, like you wanted to memorize my face in this exact moment, babe…”

His words had my emotions building like a flash flood, and I soon blinked tears back, but was utterly unsuccessful as my throat tightened and I had to sniff hard just to breathe. His eyes were watery too, so I moved to swipe my thumbs under them to catch the tears before they fell, confessing, “Because _I am_ …I still don’t know what I did to have you in my life, and there’s just something different about you today, Chris. I’ve always thought you were handsome, I tell you that often enough for sure, but today…I don’t think you’ve ever been as handsome to me as you are _right now_ , and I’m just trying to stay in the moment, so I can cherish it forever.”

“You mean so you remember better times when I’m bald, have dentures, live in Depends, and have liver spots?” He asked on a soggy chuckle, his right hand moving to collect the newest tears that welled up.

“You mean in like five years? _Yeah_.” I teased, sending a shit eating grin down at him and laughing when his face lifted up meet mine, an indignant and stubborn expression on his handsome and emotional face. His hand fell, going back to snap a swat to my backside in response to my jab, “It’s funny, ‘cause you’re _old_ …”

“Hey Sassypants…six and a half years! Six and a half years, that’s all that separates us. That is _not_ scandalous, I am _not_ cradle robbing, hell…we were both teenagers at the same time, in our twenties at the same time…keep calling me old, and I’m gonna have to get you back for it.” He taunted, fighting a grin the whole time, which only egged me on, so I sent another volley right back to him.

“Alright Mr. ‘Six and a half years!’, prove you’re still young and virile…give me another baby. Hell, give me _two_ by the time your 40th birthday rolls around, and I’ll stop calling you ‘Old Man Evans’.” I told him with prissy smirk.

His face broke out in an unbelieving grin as he asked, “So I have to endure five more years of you calling me old _AND_ get you pregnant twice **_BEFORE_** you’ll willingly stop?”

I pressed my mouth into a frown of concentration as my head tilted to the right, and my eyes stared at the ceiling to my left; I paused for three seconds before failing to hold in my grin any longer and I giggled, “ _Pretty much_ …unless it’s gonna give you complex, then I’ll back off.”

“You’re a brat.” He proclaimed, shaking his head. “But lucky for you, I’ll accept that challenge. The second that baby number two comes into the world, you can’t call me old anymore, at least not until I’m old enough for AARP and a senior discount. _Deal_?”

“Deal.” I agreed, holding my hand up for one more pink promise. Slipping my finger from his, I pointed back at the door, telling Chris, “Alright…now _get out_ , I gotta work some magic.”

“But.. _.I wanna watch_.” He pouted, standing from the closed toilet; I grabbed his arm, tugging to get him moving.

“ ** _No_**.” I squawked in response. “You’re _not_ watching me like a zoo exhibit while I do my hair and makeup for our wedding, Chris! I’m already stressed out and worried, I don’t need you watching over my shoulder. Another time, just not right now, please? I have to dry shampoo the shit out of my hair, tease it, get it in curls to set and then and only then can I start on my makeup.”

* * *

Katie pushed him out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Chris rolled his eyes towards the ceiling as he blew his breath out, walking back out to the couch to pick right back up watching ESPN and enjoying his beer until it was time to jump in the shower.

He was ten minutes into the week’s review when Scott’s footsteps sounded behind him, bare feet slapping on the wood floor as he jogged across the room towards the master bedroom. Looking over his shoulder, Chris rested his head against the back of the couch, watching his brothers back get smaller and smaller.

“Hey!” He called, “I wanna hear everything when you get finished in there! I want details!”

Scott raised his arm, giving Chris a thumbs up before he disappeared down the hall, leaving Chris sitting alone with the television for company.

The announcers on the screen were running out of steam and topics with the slow week in the world of sports, so he picked up the remote, and began flipping through channels until he stumbled across a couple of familiar faces on the screen. 

Checking over his shoulder once more, Chris made sure he was alone to prevent Katie’s teasing before he settled in to watch Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage at odds in the first Hobbit movie.

Thirty minutes later, Scott came walking back into the room, sucking on a finger as he crossed to the couch.

“Well…?” Chris asked expectantly, changing the channel to cover his tracks since he knew Scott would tattle on him to Katie.

“ _Burned my fahking finger on the curling iron._ ” Scott whined, holding his finger out for inspection as he reached the couch and sank into the cushion next to Chris.

“No…what’s she doing in there?”

“Well, currently…she’s got curls pinned up all over her head and is wearing about half a can of hairspray as she starts on her makeup. She was moving out of the bathroom to that table in the bedroom close to the window so you can jump in the shower whenever you want, she wanted me to tell you.”

“I’ll wait, it won’t take me very long to get ready, and that way she can do what she needs to do without distraction…I know she’s freaking out about getting ready in time.”

“Well, I only have to change…speaking of that, are we getting dressed here, or at the chapel?”

“Good question…I’ll find out what the boss wants to do in a little bit.”

* * *

“I _just_ saw it… _where_ did I put…” I muttered, turning to scan the tabletop; it took a second, I spotted the brush I was looking for, the end poking out from under the edge of the towel I had put down to catch any product fall out. Pulling it from the safety of the cotton, I ran the bristles over my palm a couple of times to make sure I knocked out any residual product out of habit; I had cleaned the brushes I packed almost a week earlier, and they hadn’t been used.

A sea of liquids, powders, palettes, pencils, and other products spread out in front of me, all familiar friends I’d come to love for different reasons offering me comfort in artistic freedom; I had fallen in love with makeup because of the colors and form of expression, but as I worked my talent from those tentative first few baby steps to the confident swagger of where I found myself now, I sought the tradition and routine of ‘putting on a face’, taking solace in my ability to transform a blank canvas to a thing of beauty.

Music was another element of it, and whenever I got ready I had something playing; today was no exception with my phone providing background noise, but instead of the hyped up ‘girl’s night out’ playlist I usually listened to, I had compiled a queue of songs fitting for a wedding day. The volume was just loud enough to block out the noise of the television, which allowed me to focus on the details at hand.

Leaning forward, I adjusted my magnifying mirror with one hand, with the brush still in my grip, as the other snagged a palette from the small pile. I lifted the lid, looking down on the magnetic backing board full of pans of eye shadow I used most often along with colors I had selected for consideration of today’s look. I loaded up the bristles with a creamy matte color, tapping off the loosest fall out before leaning into the mirror to start layering and building my eye; I was so concentrated on what I had been doing, I hadn’t heard the soft footfalls approaching.

Hands coming to softly rest on my shoulders as I moved to reload the brush with more color told me I wasn’t alone. I tipped my head back, smiling up at Chris, who returned the gesture with one of his own.

“You jumping in the shower?” I asked.

“In a minute. Is it okay if I talk to you while you work?”

“Yeah…what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Scott asked if we were getting dressed here or across the street, I told him I’d ask.” He explained, giving my shoulders a squeeze before moving to sit next to me. “If we get dressed here, it just looks like we’re heading out for something fancy or somebody else’s sunset wedding…if we get dressed over there, it might incriminate us but it’s up to you.”

“You just want to see my dress.” I teased; Chris nodded in agreement.

“This is a good look for you, by the way…” He told me with a flash of his eyebrow; I was covered in setting powder, with one eye partially started, my hair looped all around my head as I sat in my robe.  Chris reached over, taking my hand to hold since he wasn’t able to touch my cheek, laughing as he added, “You look cute in your Kabuki makeup, but please tell me you aren’t showing up to the chapel like this.”

“ _Nooo_ , I’ll look like myself, I promise.” I reassured him as I pulled my hand free to pick up where I left off. “This just sets everything so it will stay on long into the night. It’ll get buffed off when I’m done, and housekeeping will hate me for all the powder they have to clean up.”

“I’m pretty sure they’ve cleaned up worse…anyways, change here?”

“Okay.” I agreed, deciding to throw him a bone and make things easier on myself by not needing to worry about toting around a bag of clothes. “We can get dressed here, I’m sure there are people out and about in nice clothes already…but Scotty has to take first glimpse pictures. I want pictures of that…”

“That can be arranged, beautiful…alright, I’m gonna go jump in the shower. How much longer till you’re done?” He asked.

I turned to look back at myself in the mirror, assessing what I had left to do before offering, “Half hour…forty-five minutes? An hour if you’re counting my hair.”

“Good, try to be done then, that way you can take a couple minutes to catch your breath before we have to leave.” Chris told me, leaning forward like he was about to kiss me, but he stopped himself, explaining, “Sorry…I was going to kiss you, but…I don’t want to mess you up.”

“Rain check.” I answered, knowing there would be plenty of kisses to come tonight as I went back to loading up my brush and picking up where I left off, blending color onto my closed eyelid. “Go take your shower, babe.”

* * *

Showering hadn’t taken very long, it was the time spent grooming and cleaning up his beard that took that title, because with as many red carpets and events as he’d attended, this was the most important one of them all.

Opening the door once his hair was combed and styled with the gel drying, Chris walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel; he saw Katie was still hunkered down, face inches away from the mirror as he strode over to his suitcase in search of a pair of underwear and dress socks.

“Hey, are you doing that whole ‘old, new, something borrowed, and blue’ tradition, Kay?” Chris called over his shoulder as he dug in the inside pocket of the lid.

“Yeah…” Katie called back to him just as he pulled the socks from his luggage. She was quiet for a second, and Chris looked over his shoulder to find her concentrating hard on not smudging her mascara, his fingers closing on the soft material he still needed.

She leaned back, capping the tube and setting it on the table top before going on to explain, “I’ve got my diamond studs, those are my ‘something old’ since my parents gave those to me for my 13th birthday…my dress is rented, so that’s my ‘something borrowed’, my shoes are blue…”

“And what about your ‘something new’, babe?”

“I bought new underwear…special undies, just for you.”

Chris chuckled, moving the underwear to his other hand so he could retrieve the jewelry box from its hiding spot; velveteen box now in hand, he made his way back over to where Katie sat, opening the box as he called, “ _Nooo_ …you can’t have a new pair of panties be your ‘something new’…not on your wedding day, but lucky for you, babe…I have something new for you.”

She froze, sitting stock still as he approached; Chris stopped, standing just to her right as he held the box for her to see the earrings Lawrence had designed to match her engagement ring. A gasp escaped Katie once she saw what was in the box, her hands lifting to cover her mouth but stopped before touching her face.

“ _Chris_ …” She whispered, astonished as she lifted her gaze to look him directly in the eye, “ _Baby._..I don’t know what to say…they’re **_beautiful_**!”

“Do you like them?”

“Chris, I ** _LOVE_** them!” Katie sighed, reaching out to take to box for closer inspection; it didn’t take long for her to recognize elements of the design, excitedly adding, “They match my ring, oh Chris…these are _perfect_. Thank you!”

“Will you wear them tonight?” He asked, touching the back of his finger to the only part of her he was sure he wouldn’t mess up, the shell of her ear.

“ _Of course_ , my love.” Katie told him, her now free right hand reaching to take one of his, adding, “I actually have a present for you too…hold on just a second while I go get it.”

She stood, stepping around him to move to her luggage, digging just like he had for something; less than two minutes later, she was right back in front of him, holding two small, wrapped boxes in the palm of her hand.

Even with the powder covering her face, Chris couldn’t help but smile as he watched her get bashful. In that moment, with that shy expression lowering her eyes and making her worry the inside of her bottom lip slightly before she burst out in a rush, “You probably already have these, or your mom does in her collection…but I saw them, and I couldn’t pass them up. And… _yeah_. You don’t _have_ to wear them, I just…wanted you to have them.”

Chris couldn’t stop himself from telling her, “You did that the night we met, _ya know?_ The moment we _met,_ even…I don’t get to see you shy, bashful and nervous very often, but whenever I do, I fall _head over heels in love_ with you all over again.”

Katie ducked her face at his complementary confession, needing a second to collect herself before quietly telling him, “Don’t make me cry, I don’t have time to fix my makeup.”

“Sorry, but it’s true…” He whispered while shifting the tiny presents to his left hand to allow him to start working on the paper to open them. He had the smaller of the two tiny packages unwrapped first, so he lifted the lid, biting back a soft laugh when he spotted the two miniature shields inside.

“That’s amazing.” He chuckled, rearranging the boxes to get to the second; in it a silver tie bar with Cap’s shield was nestled. “You got me a Cap tie _bah_ , babe…”

“Just so I could hear you say that…” She smiled warmly, wrapping her hand over his as she added, “You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want to, they made me think of you…”

“I can’t wear the cuff links tonight, but I’ll wear the _bah_. I like this one better than the boring ol’ gold one I brought with me.”

“Do you like them? Or are you just saying that to spare my feelings, Chris?”

“You got them for me, I love them! Thank you.”

“Thank you.” She returned, squeezing his wrist. “Now get out so I can finish getting ready! Your suit is in the closet. I’ll be ready in a little bit.”

* * *

I watched Chris as he padded back to the bed to grab his socks and underwear before heading to the closet to pluck his garment bag from the bar; he looked over in my direction as I sat back down, smiling and shooting me a wink before walking out of the room to get dressed in Scott’s room.

Ten minutes, two pairs of mink lashes, three shades of different lip products and breathing in half the cloud of powder engulfing my head later, I was unpinning my hair to finger comb and style into a romantic half up-do that showed off the length of my hair as it cascaded down my back in soft curls.

Taking another look in the mirror, I finished up with blush and light contouring before dusting my favorite highlighting powder over the tops of my cheekbones, spritzing my face with plenty of setting spray to lock everything in place and finally hit my hair with another blast of hairspray before hitting my pulse points with perfume; I had been torn between which scent to use-my signature original Jennifer Aniston or one of her newer variations, but in that moment, the sexier Near Dusk won out.

Dressing didn’t take long since I had chosen my lingerie with care, but getting all the eyes hooked on the corset took longest with some twisting and turning involved. I held the panties up, smiling like an idiot at the comic book print and ruffles that would be a surprise for Chris once we got back to the room much later; his laugh was one of my favorite sounds in the world, but making him throw his head back, cackling like mad with something I did…that was an adrenaline rush wrapped up in the most comforting blanket, it was _everything_ I wanted for the rest of my life.

The dresses peeked out of the garment bags, the sequins winking at me; deciding in the moment to wear the gold dress with the draped cowl back for the ceremony, and if I wanted to change, I could always do that after dinner once we got back to Caesar’s. 

Being careful to not mess up my hair, I slipped into the dress, making sure to get the folds and bunches out, but the sheer weight of the dress did most of the work; next to go on were my blue ‘suede’ heels, then the new earrings Chris had given me while I walked into the bathroom to take a look at myself in the full length dressing mirror.

“ _Wow…_ ” I sighed, taking my own breath away with the reflection staring back at me. A huge grin lifted my face without any thought, and all of a sudden, everything became real.

The weight of knowing that when I walked out of this room, each step would be one closer to marrying the man of my dreams, my best friend, and the love of my life had my eyes welling; tipping my head back, I sucked in a shuddering breath to get my emotions in check before eventually blowing it all out in rush.

All the stress, the anxiety building and compounding on itself as we chipped away to get to today…now that the moment was practically here, and I was 98% ready to walk out the door, all those churning and tossing, riotous emotions were gone, and a calm, serene peace settled deep down inside me, telling me this was exactly right.

Sniffing loudly, I turned, plucking a tissue from the container on the counter to dab at my eyes; I needed one more deep breath before shaking my hair back and started out the door, clicking the lights off as I went.

“Scott…” I called loudly. His muted answer told me he was listening in the living room. “ _I’m ready_.”

* * *

Chris was standing at one of the tall windows, looking out through the sheers at the courtyard below when he heard those three words come from the master bedroom; his head lifted as his body turned. A sudden lump caught in his throat, causing him to swallow with an audible ‘gulp’ as he watched Scott quickly cross the room to the hallway where he disappeared.

He wasn’t gone for long, but it was just enough to make Chris’ brows pinch in concern, his heart racing at the sheer excitement and hint of the unknown…that same kind of rush he got from standing at the open door of a plane those few seconds before jumping and letting go of everything to live in the moment.

Scott’s face reappeared, poking around the corner to tell him, with a beaming shit eating grin making him look like fool, “She’s _gorgeous_ , bro…come stand on this side of the pool table, but face the window. I’ll tell you when to turn around.”

Following his brothers instruction, Chris moved swiftly to take up the spot at the other end of the pool table; he turned to face the window once more, his hands resting on the edge of the table while he focused on steadying his breathing with rhythmic in and outs…until the unmistakable ‘clicking’ of high heels echoed, growing louder until the sound stopped abruptly.

Scott tortured him for ten long seconds, seeming to stretch on for eternity until he finally heard his younger brother, voice cracking as he told him, “Alright, _turn around,_ Chris.”

The world had slowed down around him, making the moment last as he took a deep breath and turned around to find Katie shimmering and sparkling in the light filling the room. That deep breath proved to be a waste, because it caught in his chest. Jaw dropping, Chris felt tears well and he covered his mouth with both hands.

Katie’s face broke into an emotional grin, mirroring his speechless and awed expression without a doubt as she took him in as well.

“You look… ** _wow._** ” He managed to breathe, his body answering an unspoken call to touch her and before he knew it, Chris was standing in front of her, fighting with himself to not damage the hard work she’d created and afraid of messing her with his touches but desperately needing to have her in his arms. “You’re _gorgeous_.”

“And _you_ look like sex on legs, Mister.” Katie countered, her voice full of emotion while she smoothed her hands over the lapels of his jacket; her touch quelled his hesitance, and he placed his hands on her hips. Their eyes met and locked, a moment of silent conversation seeming to pass in those looks.

“We’re getting married. _You_ and _me_ …-” Katie stated, her voice barely more than a whisper and tinged with a healthy amount of astonishment as she touched his face softly; he could see her eyes fill with fresh tears as choked out, “-it’s _finally_ here. We’re really doing this…”

“You bet your beautiful ass we are.” Chris told her nodding as he leaned into her, touching his forehead to hers lightly to not ruin her makeup. Fighting back his tears was a losing battle and he felt the first few slip past his eyelids as he asked her, “This isn’t a dream, and from now on when you wake up, you’ll be staring at **_my_** ugly mug on the other pillow as proof.”

Her soggy laugh was music to his ears, lifting his mouth at the corners.

Moving his hands to fold her tightly in his arms, Chris tilted his face, angling to graze his lips over hers ever so softly.

“I love you-” He breathed against her mouth, only pulling back enough to not smudge her lipstick, grinning from ear to ear as he finished with, “-let’s go get _married_ , Tinkerbell.”

[Originally posted by nerdofallfandoms](https://tmblr.co/ZRBhrk1v_K1Yt)


	3. Meatballs Get Married Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goin’ to the chapel and it’s FINALLY time for Chris and Katie to get married!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Amy for being my second set of eyes and beta-ing!
> 
> Warnings- None. Super sickeningly sweet, tooth rotting fluff.

  
  
Visual Inspo boards- Katie’s [board](https://lady-meatball.tumblr.com/post/164698126320/ks-wedding-board-by-card-carrying-nerd-featuring) / Chris’ [board](https://lady-meatball.tumblr.com/post/164698278930/cs-wedding-board-by-card-carrying-nerd-featuring)  


[Originally posted by khaleeji-swagg](https://tmblr.co/ZOtYuj2P3Uy_E)

* * *

 

“So how is this gonna work?” I asked as I came walking back along the hall from the bedroom, my clutch purse now in hand and packed full of things I knew I’d need; Chris and Scott were waiting for me near the main entrance of our suite. “Are we just heading across the street together, or are we staggering ourselves…?”

“We’ll all ride over together. If we stay together, we should be able to get away with looking like we’re going to a friends wedding.” Chris explained, his hand held out for me to take once I got close enough. “Try to keep the focus off of _us_ as much as possible until after it’s official, and even then…keep low profiles until next weekend.”

“Well, if we want to keep _low profiles_ , maybe _I_ should ride over in the limo, and _you and Scott_ walk across the street?” I offered.

Chris looked away from me to Scott, his face asking without words what his younger brother thought of that idea.

“Hey man, whatever you want to do…I’m just here to sign papers, takes pictures and hand over rings when I’m supposed to.” Scott answered, shoulders shrugged and hands held high in surrender. “But she’s got a point, and it’s not _su-pah_ miserable outside right now…and besides, we have suits on, we’d survive crossing the street.”

Chris turned back to face me, his expression guarded.

“I don’t like just leaving you to fend for yourself…”

“Chris, _I’ll be fine_.” I reassured him with a chuckle. “I’ll call for the limo, head down to the valet, you guys can wait a few minutes, and then make your way over to the Flamingo…it’s _not_ like paparazzi are expecting this, they **won’t** be stalking the main lobby, they **won’t** be waiting to pounce on me. I’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll just meet you over there.”

He looked uncomfortable and disbelieving as he watched me.

“Chris…we got stopped earlier. You want to stay under the radar, this is gonna be the best way to go about that before we get married. I know you don’t like me being separated from you out and about in public, but _nobody_ is going to bother **_me_**. I’m not _**Mrs.**_ Chris Evans just yet, I can still move about without the world watching my every move under a microscope…after tonight, _not so much._ ” I went on to tell him, adding, “You said it yourself, we’re _gonna_ get spotted and most likely stopped throughout the night while we’re out…I’m fine with that, but only **_after_** we’re officially ‘ _man and wife_ ’. Then I don’t have to scurry off and disappear into the woodwork, or stand ‘x’ amount of feet away and keep my hands to myself…because at that point, if people put two and two together, it won’t matter and we make the announcement sooner rather than later.”

“ _I hate it when you’re right._ ” He sighed, lifting his free hand to scrub his fingers into his eyes. “Fine, you take the limo, we’ll walk. I’ll call down to the concierge covering for Tyler to have the limo brought to Valet.”

I couldn’t hide the smile that spread over my face as I reached for his hand, squeezing it as I softly told him, “ _Thank you, baby._ ”

He returned my touch with one of his own, leaning into press a barely there kiss to my cheek; “You’re welcome. I can’t get over how _beautiful_ you look…” he told me as he stood back, eyes raking over me once again.

“That makes _two_ of us, then…” I laughed with a duck of my head, smoothing my hands over his shoulders first, then down along the lapels of his jackets; lifting my gaze, I caught him watching me closely, so I went on to add, “ ** _You_** look good enough to eat.”

“ _ **I don’t need to hear this…**_ ” Scott spat out, “Keep your clothes on long enough to get through the ceremony and dinner, okay? I’m hungry, but not for what you two have on the menu… _ **I’ll**_ call for the limo.”

Chris and I both broke into wide smiles at Scott’s protest; Chris drew me into his body, arms engulfing me for a tight embrace, which I was more than happy to return by cuddling close and pecking tiny kisses to his lips.

_“Oh Gahd…”_ Scott’s voice rang out, “ _Knock it off you two…_ you can suck face all you want **_after_** it’s official…”

“ _That’s not the **only** thing getting sucked later…_” I mumbled through another kiss. 

[Originally posted by avengersimaginings](https://tmblr.co/Z51z0m1xTXvxa)

Chris shook with a low chuckle rumbling up from his chest, “Getting a wife, wedding sex _**and**_ a blowjob tonight… _best day **EVAH**!_ ”

Scott made another sound of disgust, but a faint laugh could be heard at the very tail end of his protest as he pried Chris and I apart playfully. “Hey… **keep it in your pants!** Kay, the limo should be waiting for you in a few minutes.”

* * *

Ten minutes later, I was walking through the lobby towards the valet; it was early, by New Year’s Eve standards, and I knew I was getting plenty of looks by the people stopping in their tracks as I walked past with confidence holding my head high and keeping my shoulders back in great posture. The gold sequin dress was definitely a head turner, but paired with an Amazon made up to the nines, I knew I was in for plenty of attention…which was why I insisted on making my way to the chapel on my own. If Chris had been with me, it would have been over with how dressed up we both were compared to everybody else.

As I crossed from the carpet onto the marble, the sound of my heels clicking acted as a boost to my self confidence, and seemed to stun a small group of younger men as they opened one of the heavy doors; three college aged men stood stunned in place as I approached, smiling and offering a muted ‘thank you’ for holding the door.

_“Wow…”_

I stifled an amused laugh at the way all three guys seemed to breathe their compliment as I walked past.

Knowing I garnered that kind of reaction from men I didn’t even know was an adrenaline rush certainly, but it wasn’t nearly as heady as the knowledge I had rendered the most handsome, funny, sweet and loving man on the planet in my opinion dumb just because I walked out of the bedroom.

The limo was just ahead of me, and the uniformed man waiting at the curb smiled when he spotted me.

“Ms. McQueen?” He asked, extending a hand to assist me to the backseat.

“That would be me. How are you this afternoon?”

“I’m good. I get better the closer it gets to 9 PM, my ol’ lady has plans for us tonight…” He smiled. “I understand you’d like to go across the street, but I was informed there would be two other guests…”

“There will be on the ride back.” I explained, looking for a name tag but not finding one, I asked, “I’m so sorry, I’m Katie, I’ll feel better if I know your name…”

“It’s Miguel, ma’am. It’s nice to meet you.”

* * *

Waiting ten minutes, Chris and Scott set out to walk across the street; it took all Chris had to not leave with Katie, but she had been right, and with that dress she was wearing…

The casino floor was definitely busier than it had been earlier, but as Chris and Scott walked along the carpet towards the main lobby, he noticed a handful of people were already dressed for partying; blowing out a sigh of relief at not standing out like a sore thumb, Chris retrieved his sunglasses from the inside pocket of his suit jacket as he and his brother walked past the huge fountain in the center of the lobby in preparation of walking outside.

“ _Holy…_ ” Scott muttered next to him; they had made it a whopping fifteen feet from the huge, heavy glass doors when the wind picked up and sent a chill whipping around them at the same moment a knot of geriatrics came barreling down on the brothers at a snail’s pace. The three little old ladies closest to them didn’t like it when Scott proclaimed, “ ** _FAHK_** , I wasn’t expecting it to be that chilly…I wasn’t prepared, that when right up _my ass!_ ”

Chris couldn’t stop himself from laughing heartily at the shocked and disgusted expressions directed at Scott.

“ _Sorry…_ ” Scott apologized, “No offense ladies…Happy New Year.”

“It’s not the cold we’re used to, _that’s for sure_ , but it _does_ take you by surprise when you’re least expecting it, doesn’t it?” Chris asked through his chuckling.

“ _ **Fahk me** , I’ll say it does…_” Scott agreed, rubbing his hands together in front of him as they walked past the huge red and white ‘circus’ tent Zumanity called home. “And Kay prefers _this_ to snow? Is she _fahking_ crazy?”

Chris shook his head, laughing softly as he joked, “ _The jury’s still out on that_ …it’s not that she completely hates snow, she just has a love-hate relationship with it. She grew up in snow country, so she enjoys it but doesn’t like having to be ‘out’ in it.” Turning his head, Chris caught Scott giving him a wary eyed once over, so he went on to explain, hands slipping from his pockets to add to the conversation with gestures, “This was how she explained it to me…snow is beautiful, it’s great and wonderful and picturesque when you can enjoy it from the safety and warmth of being inside…for the first hour or two, then it freezes and turns to ice or even worse, black ice. And unlike back home for us, she was in the mountains…with narrow, winding roads, with endless tree cover. We get Nor’easters and get feet of snow dumped on us in one storm back in Massachusetts, but we’re relatively flat compared to where she grew up. Add in the ‘tourists’ from the Central California valley and Bay Area, and she said it was Hell frozen over. She loves the romantic ‘idea’ of snow, but hates all the problems that come along with it…but mainly, she hates driving in it.”

“ _Well, yeah…_ ” Scott nodded, agreeing with Chris’ explanation, adding, “I don’t think _anybody_ ‘enjoys’ driving in snow, and if they do, _they’re crazy_ …”

“Well, she’s got a reason to hate it. I guess she almost got hit by a semi because of black ice at three in the morning…”

“ _What?_ ” Scott asked incredulously, turning to face Chris and hitting his shoulder with the back of his hand. “You could have said that off the bat, _you ass!_ You need to tell me these things, because I don’t want or need to stick my big, fat feet in my mouth any more than I already do with Kay!”

“What are you talking about, bro? _She loves you._ ”

“And _I love her_ , but in the last few months, it seems whenever we’re together I end up saying the wrong thing or doing something to upset her…” Scott pointed out, “Things that **_could have been avoided_** _if my stupid big brother had shared some seemingly irrelevant but actually important information._ ”

“Dude… _half the time I don’t even know!_ I’m learning as we go… ** _we both are._** ” Chris reminded Scott, stepping out of the way of a group of foreigners talking over each other in competing languages.

“Yeah…you guys _hardly_ know each other if we’re being honest…”

The street-side restaurant on the Caesar’s property no longer housed Serendipity 3’s ‘west coast’ location, but now touted a burger joint and grill as they approached, and Chris’s disappointment made his stomach drop; the ever evolving Las Vegas Strip had claimed another victim of change for change’s sake, and turned an early moment from his and Katie’s relationship to a memory that could never be recreated as his brother’s words set in.

“We have the rest of our lives to get to know each other, Scotty. She’s ‘ _it’_. Believe it or not, I would have married her _that first week_ , my heart was ready but it took the rest of me a little longer to get on the same page.” Chris told his brother softly, making sure to keep his voice low and slightly masked to draw more attention to themselves as they turned to make their way to the closest crosswalk. “Scotty, I don’t need to know what her favorite nail polish color is, or how she likes her eggs, or even which shoe she puts on first because that _doesn’t matter_ , at least now right now. What’s _important_ is that she’s _caring_ , she’s _loving_ , she’s _sweet_ , she fits…with our _family_ and with **_me_**. She’s the first girl in a _long time_ that ticks off all the boxes of things I want, Scott. Kay’s my missing puzzle piece, _everything_ makes sense with her…”

With each step towards the corner, Chris could feel himself tense with the crowd of people waiting to cross Las Vegas Boulevard looming closer and closer and the risk of being made skyrocketing.

“Bro, I’m not saying this is a mistake, or trying to paint Kay in a bad light, but this is so _out of character_ for you…yes, you _do_ have a history of doing some spur of the moment shit, but _this_ …” Scott started to say, but a group of four young ladies walking alongside them had both brothers clamming up and putting on the ‘work’ smiles.

“ _Excuse me_ …” A feminine voice asked as a gentle tap to his arm transferred through his jacket. Chris felt his face pull into a tight, closed mouth smile as he waited for the inevitable. “Are you…? _Are you Chris Evans?_ ”

Opening his mouth to try to spin yet another encounter with neither confirming or denying, Chris noticed two women flanked Scott and the fourth young woman in the group spoke up from the other side of the first one to make contact, exclaiming, “ **You are!** He’s got the **same** beauty mark on his cheek!”

_“Shhhh…”_ Scott hissed as a phone was whipped out of a pocket, pointed at Chris and started snapping photos. “ _Not so loud_ …we’re trying to enjoy walking around. Can you **_stop_** , please?”

“Sorry…it’s not everyday I stumble across my favorite actor walking down the street. Nobody will _believe_ us back home if I don’t get pictures…” The impromptu paparazzi lady countered with a slip of attitude at Scott’s chastise; Chris slowed down as they came up to the stoplight, but kept his lips zipped as the women asked questions and posed around him, producing slips of paper and a pen for autographs.

It was the longest light of his life, waiting with a gaggle of giddy women surrounding him and garnering looks from the others waiting to cross the street, asking questions about what he was doing; Scott did his best to divert, but knowing they weren’t going to take his silent treatment, Chris gave general answers to their inquiries with the condition that these women would hold off on posting photos and their encounters to social for a few days. He knew this could blow up in his face, and give away what they were up to, but it was the only way to keep his fans happy…once the signal changed he gave a wave with another tight smile and made his way to lose his shadows by slipping into the nearest casino, with Scott by his side.

* * *

“ _Hhhhhhppppppppffffff._ ” I sounded, blowing my breath out in a rush, my lips bouncing as I scanned my reflection in the chapel’s dressing room. We were five minutes away from when our ceremony was supposed to start and Chris hadn’t arrived. My nerves were ramping up, and the doubt in my mind that I was going to be stood up was beginning to sink in my stomach along with the lump in my throat making it more and more difficult to breathe as I started in singing, “ _Goin’ to the chapel and we’re…gonna get maaaaarried…_ ”

Taking a deep breath, I turned away from the mirror to gingerly sit on the edge of a chair. I closed my eyes, focusing on evening my breathing to quell the wave of anxiety threatening to drown me when the sound of people talking outside the door had me looking up; a soft knock at the door preceded it opening, revealing a middle aged woman on the chapel’s staff from slipping inside.

“They’re here. Apparently they got stopped crossing the street and had to lose the women tailing them…but it looks like we’re only going to be a few minutes behind schedule.” She smiled, crossing the small room with a clear plastic clam-shell in hand; she offered me a hand to stand, moving back two steps to pry the lid open to show me the beautiful bouquet of white, red and ox blood roses, explaining as the heavenly scent of the blooms enveloped me, “He looks mighty handsome, _if you don’t mind me saying_ , Miss. Both of them do. _A very handsome family_ …your children will be handsome too by the looks of your man and his brother. And such a _sweet man_ …he wanted you to have these when you walk down the aisle.”

Lifting my hand, I dabbed at my nose, feeling my emotions build once again at Chris’ touching gesture.

“He’s truly something else…they’re beautiful, _I shouldn’t be surprised_ …” I choked out, waving my hands in front of my face to expel some of my nerves while blinking back tears before reaching for the gorgeous full bouquet with it’s midnight blue and gold satin wrapped stems. Holding the flowers high to admire the blend of the three colors, I noticed the cool touch of metal against my palm, and rotated the flowers to find a tiny charm attached to the ribbon-a small gold Tinkerbell in flight dangled from a pearl ended pin.

Unable to keep myself from letting out a sob of happiness, I covered my mouth and felt two tears slip over my eyelids.

“Oh dear… _don’t cry_ …”

“I’m gonna kick his ass…” I said weakly, accepting a tissue from my attendant when she leaned to the counter to snag the box; her gentle chuckle told me this wasn’t the first time she’d heard a bride utter those five words in regards of her soon to be husband. “He’s already made me cry so many damn times today…I don’t think I’m going to able to stop now.”

A hand brushing wisps of hair away from my temple before touching my cheek had me looking at the older woman with watery eyes and the telltale frown of trying to keep my emotions in check.

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think you’re the _only one_ crying right now, dear…I’ve seen _a lot_ of young people get married, and when I see a bride and groom _this_ emotional before a ceremony, it’s a sign it’s the real thing…and anytime I hear a bride say she’s got it in for her groom, it reminds me of when I married my prince…”

Another knock sounded at the door, and the chapel staff got the ball rolling by letting my attendant and I know everybody was in place and waiting for me.

A deep inhale and shaking my hair back over my shoulders, I blinked back the little bit of wetness still clinging to my eyes.

“All ready?”

Smiling as I felt the last of my lingering anxiety evaporate and a still calm settle around me, I nodded.

“Alright, dear…let’s change you from a _Miss_ to a _Missus_. Let’s go give ‘im Hell.”

The little hallway between the sitting room and the chapel was short, and it wasn’t long before I stood on shaky legs in front of the closed double doors. The moment was finally here, and my nerves had caught up with me…this was the biggest leap of faith I’d ever come across in my life, and like Chris and I had discussed just over a month earlier, the only way to describe it was like Indiana Jones standing on that narrow ledge, working up the courage and faith to step off into thin air in The Last Crusade in order to save his father with Christ’s holy cup; each passing second I stood there, planted with my knees knocking and my teeth chattering while fidgeting with my flowers as I thought about what was about to happen.

I was lost in my thoughts and trying my hardest to remember ‘ _one foot in front of the other and don’t roll your ankles_ ’ that I hadn’t heard the telltale opening notes of the Wedding March.

“ _Give him a smile_ , darling…just focus on your groom.” The familiar voice of the lady that had been watching over me instructed while opening the doors. “He’s _only_ got eyes for you.”

* * *

Chris stood at the end of the short aisle, next to an older man with hair dyed jet black, a deep ocher tan and enough gold jewelry to fit right in with the Vegas crowd of old. Scott occupied the space to his left, while Tyler and his girlfriend waited at the first row of seats. 

A quiet conversation between Scott and Tyler was cut short when the speakers came alive with the distinct fanfare that started the song Chris heard numerous times while standing with his friends as they got married.

The doors opened, and a vision of gold twinkled in the falling light that came through the few windows in the chapel; Katie turned away from the door to connect eyes with him, her face breaking into a watery smile which he returned with soggy chuckle.

He caught the small twitch of her mouth as she steadied herself with a fortifying breath before pushing off to start her approach, betraying her nerves along with the slight wobble Chris detected in her walk and the white knuckled grip she had on her bouquet. Counting each step she took, Chris felt his heart swell and with a new wave of tears welling, he lifted a hand to brush them away as a tidal wave of emotions came crashing down on him, overwhelming him.

Watching her slowly cross the room, Chris couldn’t take his eyes off her, drinking in every detail-the movement of her hair as she walked, the small movement of her tongue slipping out to moisten her lips before blowing a tiny breath from her pursed lips, the glimpses of her blue heels as she kicked the hem of her skirt with each step…but always coming back to lock eyes with her because of the way her emerald gaze seemed to glow from happiness, making everyone and everything else melt away as she reached those last five feet. Chris let a sigh slip, extending a hand for her to take; the touch of her hand as she took his had Chris’ mouth pressing into a thin line of a smile when she gave him a gentle squeeze.

“ _Hey Beautiful…_ ” Chris managed to choke out on a whisper, squeezing her fingers.

“ _Hey Handsome…_ ” Katie breathed, beaming now that she stood in front of him at the end of the aisle, seconds away from crossing the finish line on these last few crazy months. “ _Last chance…_ ”

“ _Don’t_ give him the option, Kay…” Scott teased, his hand coming to land on Chris’ shoulder to give him a loving squeeze.

Hanging his head, Chris shook his head slightly from side to side with a soft, waterlogged chuckle, his eyes now streaming as he cleared his throat.

_“ **Not** on your life, babe…”_

Katie pulled her hand from his, bringing it to his face to wipe the tears away and caress his cheek, radiating pure happiness as she replied with, “ _Good answer_. Let’s step off the cliff…”

Kendall, Tyler’s girlfriend stepped forward, offering to hold Katie’s bouquet for the ceremony. Katie handed the flowers over with a soft ‘ _thank you_ ’ before resuming her stance next to Chris, facing him to let the man officiating know she was ready.

The music faded out to silence as Chris took both of Katie’s hands in his; he watched her intently, trying to take snapshots in his mind of how she looked, how he felt, the way the light in the small, private chapel made her glow…and the tiny, wry smile curling the corners of her mouth that seemed to reach up to her eyes as she shook her long hair back off her shoulders a second before the man on his right started talking.

“We are gathered here this evening, to bring _this man_ -” he said, holding his left hand out in Chris’ direction before turning to look at Katie with his right hand lifting towards her, “-and _this woman_ together in the bonds of holy matrimony which is commended to be honorable among all men; and therefore is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly and solemnly. Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.“

The man paused, looking from Chris to Katie and then to Scott, Tyler and his girlfriend; no objection was given and he resumed his place in the ceremony.

“Normally, I would ask who gives this woman to be wed, but _given the circumstances…_ ”

“I will.”

Katie turned away from Chris, looking at her former supervisor in stunned silence at his offer.

“If that’s _alright_ with you, Rock-star? I know I’m not family, but I’m the closest you’ve got with your family not being here…” Tyler said, slipping his arm from Kendall’s to step forward, offering it to Katie with a shy half smile; her eyes filled with tears and her nod of acceptance told Chris she had told Tyler of her father’s passing long ago and this was a genuine gesture of the heart on Tyler’s part.

Tyler stepped next to Chris and Katie, holding her right hand sandwiched between his; looking straight ahead at the officiant, Tyler spoke up, “I give this woman, on behalf of _her father_ , _her family_ , and _her Starbucks family_.”

With a nod from the man at the head of the show, Tyler lifted her hand, kissing the back of it and giving her a squeeze before placing her hand back in Chris’ grip; Katie smiled at him, mouthing, ‘ _Thank you, Ty._ ’, he responded with a firm squeeze to Chris’ bicep and shooting a wink at Katie before stepping back to take his place next to his girlfriend.

“Love. _Love_ is what brings here presently, to celebrate in Chris and Katie’s love, and to bear witness to two individuals becoming one in this sacred tradition…but what _is_ love?”

[Originally posted by uniquelittlewallflower](https://tmblr.co/Zo8yXuvF3zrm)

“ _Baby don’t hurt me_ …” Katie whispered, fighting a laugh as she leaned into Chris, touching her forehead to his.

“ _Don’t hurt me, no mo’_ …” Chris piped up, earning a chuckle from everyone in the chapel. The man overseeing cleared his throat and they broke apart, working hard to stifle their giggles as he went on.

“To explain, I’d like to recite a couple of passages from literature that prove to show all facets of what love means, the first is from ‘ _Captain Corelli’s Mandolin_ ’ by Louis de Bernières…” The small black book the officiant had held was opened and he skimmed to a certain page, clearing his throat before speaking.

“ _‘Love is a **temporary madness** , it **erupts** like volcanoes and then **subsides**. And when it subsides, you have to make a **decision**. You have to work out whether your **roots** have so **entwined together** that it is **inconceivable** that you should **ever** part. Because **this** is what **love** is. **Love** is not **breathlessness** , it is not **excitement** , it is not the **promulgation of promises of eternal passion** , it is not the **desire to mate** every second minute of the day, it is not **lying awake** **at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body**. No, don’t blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being ’ **in love** ’, which **any fool** can do. **Love** itself is what is **left over** when being **in love** has **burned away** , and this is **both** an **art** and a **fortunate accident**.’_ ”

“The second, well, the second passage speaks of the wild ride that love helms, from Tim Robbins’ ‘ _Still Life With Woodpecker_ ’… _‘Love is the **ultimate outlaw**. It just won’t adhere to **any** rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its **accomplice**. Instead of vowing to **honor** and **obey** , maybe we should swear to **aid** and **abet**. That would mean that **security** is **out of the question.** The words ’ **make** ’ and ’ **stay** ’ become inappropriate. **My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.** ’_”

Chris let out a bark of laughter, finding the passage’s wording to be hilariously ironic after the conversation he and Katie had in bed only nights earlier, and he whispered, “ _Bonnie…_ ”

“ _ **My** Clyde…_ ” She responded with a shit eating grin, “ _I love you for free._ ”

“Love and marriage, well, to quote the grandfather of Las Vegas himself, they go together like a horse and carriage. And just like that horse and carriage, love and marriage has _responsibilities_ …it’s **_not_** something _light_ and _frivolous_ , something one embraces for a day, a week, a month or a year. You must work that horse to keep it in shape…you must maintain the carriage to keep it operating…and so must you _continually_ work at keeping a marriage _happy, healthy and thriving_. Marriage is a bond, one that should not be taken lightly, but by those truly in love, for it is a journey, a journey of hardships and blessings that cannot be fully comprehended without the other, such as one cannot fully enjoy the light without the dark.” The man looked between Chris and Katie, turning from to the other ever so slightly as he asked, “Do you _knowingly_ and _willingly_ accept those responsibilities, Chris? Do you, Kathryn?”

Katie turned away from the man in black to smile softly at Chris with warm eyes, both of them answering in almost perfect unison, “ _I do._ ”

“Do you have vows prepared, or would you like to follow along with me?”

“We have vows.” Chris informed the officiant just a little too quickly, causing Tyler, Kendall and Scott to snicker softly at his eagerness.

The older man tilted his head in acknowledgement, a smile pulling at his face as he turned the floor over, “ _Then by all means…_ ”

Facing each other once more, Chris and Katie smiled widely at one another, hands clasped between them as they took a second to catch their breath. Chris noticed the way her pulse hammered in her throat, the focused determination to keep her unshed tears from spilling as she forced a breath through her pursed lips and barely there tremor of her hands in his; Katie felt the strength of his grip in his fingers, saw his iron will and determination in keeping himself together crumble with each passing second as his face turned down in an emotional frown, lips pressed thin as another round of tears slipped over his eyelids. She gave his fingers a squeeze to bolster his nerve, making his chin quiver a moment before his mouth lifted in a lopsided smirk.

“ _I guess I’ll go first…_ ” Katie said, pulling her right hand from his grasp to pass her thumb under one eye, then the other, getting misty eyed herself, “Babe… _I love you_. That’s all I can really say… _I love you **so much** that it **terrifies** me, Chris…_ ” Stopping suddenly, Katie drew a large breath before continuing, voice cracking with so much emotion as she poured her heart out, “ ** _-so_** **_damn much_** that my heart feels like it’s going to **_burst_** at any given moment, **_so damn much_** that I feel like I’m going to **_float right off the earth_** when I’m with you… _I love you **so damn much** that I’m in uncharted water, because I’ve **never** felt the way you make me feel._”

“The night we met…neither of us was looking for love, hell, I was **running** from **anything** that resembled it and had been for a long time when Anna pushed you **_kicking and screaming_** into my life-” She choked, tilting her face down for a brief moment, but Chris lifted his hand to make her look him in the eye, telling her without words he was right there and nobody else mattered in that moment except her with his touch to her chin; tears leaked out, and Chris moved his hand to catch the drops with the back of his finger as she went on, “-I ran because I was _**scared**_ , because I didn’t want to get **_hurt anymore_** …but then you came strolling into my life, _turning my entire world upside down_ , completely unexpected…I couldn’t…I _couldn’t_ resist you and the magnetic pull that exists between us-”she paused with soft, soggy chuckle before going on to say, “- _no matter how much I fought with myself, resisted, and dug my heels in,_ you called me on the carpet, making me face facts that I was **_terrified_** of _letting my guard down, letting somebody into my heart_ …hell, that I wasn’t **_LIVING_** , I was just **_existing_** and that ** _this_** …that **_US_** was _going_ to happen whether I wanted it to or not, because you **_weren’t_** going to let me keep **_hiding_** behind my _rusty armor_ and _crumbling stone walls_ …that it was **_okay_** for me to be **_ME_** \- the _crazy, strong willed, opinionated…_ ”

“ _Sassy._ ” Chris interjected with soft laugh, accompanied with a tiny sob as his soppy grin staring back at Katie.

Tilting her head back ever so slightly, Katie blew out a steadying breath to continue with her own small chuckle.

“ ** _Sassy_** woman I am. I want to _thank you_ for **_accepting_** all of that, not only accepting that, but loving me _in spite of it_ as well as because…I know I’m not the _easiest person_ to get along with, but then… _neither are you_ …-” Her smile broke into a wide grin as Scott made a noise of agreement and Tyler and Kendall’s laughter rang out on the other side; Chris fought the shit eating grin that wanted to spread over his face while giving her hands a squeeze. “-that being said…I promise you, I _can’t begin_ to express how **_happy_** I am that you _choose_ **_me_** to be the one **_annoying_** you for the **_rest of your life_**!” I told him, rubbing my thumb over his cheek; Chris, the officiant, Scott, Tyler, his girlfriend and the chapel staff laughed at the last. “ ** _Thank you_** for coming into my life, and _making_ me realize that having a **_loving heart_** is truly a **_blessing_** , especially when it loves someone that **returns** that love tenfold! I told you once that I was _‘gonna treat you so good, you were never gonna wanna let me go’_ …well, I **never** wanna let **_YOU_** go. **_I love you_** , and I _can’t wait_ to see what crazy ride we’ve got in store for us…”

Chris’ face inclined forward, his eyes squeezed tight as his lips pressed into a frown, attempting to fight back tears and losing his battle. The sounds of sniffling told Katie her words had the right effect as she watched Chris before briefly catching Scott lifting a hand to wipe at his eyes. Waiting for the rebuttal, she knew she was going to lose her cool and start bawling when he finally gained enough composure to begin saying what he had prepared; she didn’t have wait long, but those ten seconds he took to tamp down his emotions enough to speak felt like an eternity. Straightening his spine, Chris lifted his head; his mouth formed an ‘o’, blowing his steadying breath out to begin, with emotions still raw around his eyes.

“ _You pretty much just stole a good portion of what I was going to say, Babe…_ ” he laughed, making Katie crack up. Standing in front of her, Chris stood, taking in the sight of her, tears welling in her green eyes, a smile behind the emotions she couldn’t hide. His smile was warm and full of love as he returned her gesture of wiping away a bead of wetness that pooled over onto the top of her cheek, growing serious as his hand cupped her face.

“You _weren’t_ the only one that walked into Anna’s house that night _not_ looking for a relationship, let alone _love_ …you _weren’t_ the only one that had been burned _too many_ times to count by people that didn’t understand what a burden it is to love to such a _deep capacity_ , _**always** getting hurt_. I hadn’t completely given up on love, but after so many times and so many girls that only wanted the perks of fame, your heart learns it’s lesson, and you can’t blame it for being a little gun shy when the _right person_ stumbles along, _out of the blue_ …but that, that feeling…that was _**never** an issue_ with you…From the **_moment_** I set eyes on you, leaning against the counter in Anna’s kitchen, grinning like the devil at whatever you said to turn Sim that deep shade of red…the **_moment_** you held your hand out to shake mine…the **_moment_** your _gorgeous_ green eyes locked with mine… ** _I knew_**. I knew **_you_** were _**special**_ , that **_I_** was ** _yours_** whether you wanted **_me_** or **_not_** , Katie. **_You_** understand me, almost on a _molecular level_ , babe… ** _you_** understand me better than ** _I_** do half the time. I knew in my heart _then_ , it just took my brain _a little longer_ to catch up…Baby, these last few months…to say they’ve been **_crazy_** would be an _understatement_! But spending the last three months skirting the shadows, trying to protect the **_best thing_** that has **_ever_** happened to me…it made me realize what was important…and that’s **_you_**! _It’s **US**_ , and the _**family**_ we’re gonna have someday… _hopefully sooner rather than later._ ” Chris beamed, tilting his head slightly while his lopsided smirk made an appearance; Katie managed to let a soft laugh choke out as she lifted her right hand to cover his where it cradled her cheek, her left resting on the front of his suit jacket. “All the shit we’ve been through _so far_ , in just these last few months…to everybody else, it would probably seem like we’re crazy, but they couldn’t be more wrong. You… _you’re **everything**_. My **_heart_** , my **_soul_** , my **_future_** , my **_home_** …and my **_love_**. I honestly can’t tell you how much because I don’t think I can’t _fathom_ the _depths_ of the hold that you have on my heart, and I plan on letting you know every time a glimmer of your light touches undiscovered reaches, because **_you_** make me the **_best_** version of _myself_. _I love you_ , and **_can’t_** tell you that _enough_ , and **_I won’t ever stop!_** ”

Staring at him, Katie was fighting back her tears as her hand moved from his to fan herself as she tilted her head back and blinked at the ceiling in an attempt to keep the moisture from spilling; eventually Katie lowered her face, looking at Chris as her lips worked, pressing together before sighing then flattening into a grimace of a happy frown, her chin quivering violently at his admission of love. 

Silently, she told him, “ _I love you_ ”; leaning forward, he touched his forehead to hers, his own whispered reply breezing over her lips as his hand held her close.

The officiant cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the younger couple; the glistening reflection of the soft light around the room betrayed the tears welling in his eyes as he resumed leading the ceremony. He turned to Scott, standing almost forgotten to the side, his cell phone held aloft to record more candid footage.

Holding out his hand, the official asked for the rings.

Scott took a second to realize the attention was now focused on him, becoming slightly flustered when he saw the three faces ahead of him turn to look at him expectantly. Patting his suit jacket, he pulled out a ring box; opening it, he retrieved Chris’ ring, stepping forward to hand it to Katie, giving her a wink and a happy smirk before handing over the velveteen box to his brother.

“Please, repeat after me…’ _I, Christopher Robert Evans, take you, Kathryn Elizabeth Amerio, as my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, in sickness and in health, through good and bad, until death do us part._ ‘”

Taking a deep breath, both Chris and Katie separated, leaning back to face each other once more as he repeated the words, pulling the ring and matching wedding band from the cushion. A serene calm seemed to settle around Katie as Chris finally got to say the words he’d heard too many times to count, slipping Katie’s engagement ring as well as the matching diamond eternity band into place on her finger.

With the metal unable to travel any farther, the same calm feeling Chris saw Katie wearing settled over him as the older man turned away from Chris to smile at Katie, telling her what to say.

“ _’I, Kathryn Elizabeth Amerio, take you, Christopher Robert Evans, as my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, in sickness and in health, through good and bad, until death do us part._ ‘”

Squeezing Chris’ hands, she repeated the words, a huge smile breaking over her face as she finished; his grin met hers as the ring slid over his finger, halting at the knuckle connecting to his palm.

“By the power vested in me, and through the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, son.” the older man said.

[Originally posted by sensualkisses](https://tmblr.co/ZHBgvh2BYgKtZ)

The words hadn’t even finished falling from the officials lips before Chris’ hands closed on the back of Katie’s skull, holding her still to crash his lips to hers as her arms wound around his waist as the kiss deepened; his hands slowly made their way from where they held her to him, skimming down her neck, ghosting over the curves of her breasts to rest on her hips, the feeling of the sequins on her dress scratching against his palms kept him grounded in the moment. Pecking little kisses to each others lips, both grinned widely at one another, noses and foreheads touching as the sounds of the Wedding March came to life in the speakers surrounding the room and the cheers of their witnesses filled their ears.

“ _We did it…_ ” Katie whispered, biting her bottom lip. “ _I **can’t believe** we **did** it…_ ”

“ _You’re **stuck** with me now, Tinkerbell…_ ”

[Originally posted by abigayle12000](https://tmblr.co/Zdycmw1iiK5ly)

Pressing another kiss to his lips, Katie breathed, “ _I **love** you…_ ”

“ _I **love** you, too._” Chris told her with a tiny nuzzle of his nose to hers. “ _You ready to take the first steps of the rest of our lives? We have some papers to go sign…_ ”


End file.
